All Or Nothing
by emmadactryl
Summary: Don’t judge a book by its cover. The cover may be uninteresting, plain and safe, but the contents of the book might be life changing. World changing. Threatening. Deadly. Ten months after their last MI5 mission, Alpha Force are back. And in trouble...
1. Prologue

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A/N Well, I'm back! Here it is, the fourth and final fic in my What Happened Next? series- quadrilogy if I'm being fancy. It shall be written in the same way I wrote Price Of Freedom, that being first person point of view with a different character's POV per chapter. Thanks soooooooo much to lepidopteron who is my fabulous beta. This story- not to mention my original work- wouldn't be half as good without her editing and helpful imput. Just because I'm lovely and I've decided to take on a challenge, there's also some Paulo/Li as well as Amber/Hex in this fic and Alex has a little romance too. Can't forget Alex! Hehehe. Due to the fact that this _is_ first person, I sometimes have found it necessary to rewrite some of the events of the previous chapter at the beginning of the one after. Make sense? Basically it means that some events you'll read about twice, each time from a different character's POV and a different vantage point. Still confused? Don't worry, it won't happen for a while and then you'll see what I mean. So, hope you enjoy the first of my new Alpha Force fics as much as I've enjoyed writing it :)

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Prologue

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The building was huge, almost as wide as it was tall. It perched between a block of offices and a newsagency, scowling out from beneath the dull grey paint that covered its exterior. This was a building that kept its secrets close; the outside bore no clues as to what was hidden inside, who worked there, what went on behind closed doors and concrete walls. It had been there for so long that the local people had almost forgotten it existed. It was just another drab building in an equally drab part of town. There was nothing special or memorable about it. It was just a building.

The lobby of the building was as posh and upmarket as the outside was monotonous and cheap. Seated on the black leather couch by the elevators was Lucas Hart. Mid thirties, average height, average weight, Lucas was about as memorable as the building. Lucas also kept his secrets close. An ex-criminal, Lucas had a vast amount of cash and priceless antiques. He'd hidden the wealth under different names, in different banks, in different countries. All untraceable, at least not back to himself, but all easy for him to access whenever he saw fit. It was the perfect set up and Lucas had retired, happy and content four years before. But old habits die hard; a motto which Lucas found suited his life perfectly.

Now though, seated on the very edge of one of the couches, Lucas looked anything but content. His fingers picked uneasily at the leather, his foot tapping away to some silent beat. A small mobile was clamped to his ear and the person on the other end of the line was the sole cause of his anxiety.

'You promised it would be ready, Lucas.' Lucas flinched. No matter how many times he heard his boss' voice, he still wouldn't get used to the rasping of it. It reminded him of sandpaper. An accident, his boss had said. A run in with some Americans who he'd crossed. Lucas hadn't wanted to know any more, hadn't wanted to hear the details of how his voice had been ruined.

'I know, sir, but we've hit a bit of a glitch.'

'A glitch? What sort of glitch? I'm telling you, Lucas, it better not be anything too bad or...' His boss trailed off, not needing to finish. Lucas understood exactly what he meant. He heard the unspoken threat as clearly as if his boss had shouted it at him.

His fingers dug into the leather. 'Yes, sir. I promise, sir. We've got some people onto it. It'll be fixed by the time you get back. I promise, sir.'

'Good.' His boss gave a harsh chuckle. 'I'm trusting you, Lucas. Don't let me down. I've been let down too many times before. Don't join that list of traitors.'

There was a click and Lucas lowered the phone from his ear. He took a few deep breaths and put the phone away. Now that he'd gotten rid of his boss, his fingers stopped digging into the leather, his foot stopped jumping and he began to relax. They'd fix it on time. Lucas bit his lip. They'd have to or his boss would make him pay.

Glancing at his watch, Lucas gave a small gasp and leapt to his feet, dashing for the doors. He was gone in a split second, forgotten by everyone who'd seen him. The only evidence of his visit was contained on the tapes of the security cameras and marked by the small indentations in the leather couch by the elevators.

_Don't judge a book by its cover. _The cover may be uninteresting, plain and safe, but the contents of the book might be life changing. World changing. Threatening.

Deadly.

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	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

_**Alex**_

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**

Laura walked out the door, leaving me with a gaping hole in my heart and the feeling that I'd just lost the best thing that had happened to me in a long while. Standing in the centre of the hallway, I stared at the door, wishing I had a time machine and a little more common sense.

'Yeah, Alex, smart move,' I murmured. 'You can survive in any terrain, in any condition, but you can't survive your clucky girlfriend.' I groaned and rocked forward until my forehead banged into the wall. 'I am so bloody tactful,' I snapped, furious with myself.

The phone rang and for a brief second I thought it was Laura. Then, like a bad dream, the last conversation I'd had with her, just a minute or so ago, came flooding back. She wouldn't be calling me for the next hundred years. At least. I'd blown it big time.

'Hello?' I said, not really paying attention. A small bug crawled across the countertop and disappeared under the half raised chopping board. _Lucky bug_, I thought, _it gets to just crawl and hide when things go bad. _

'Is that Alex Craig?' a voice rasped in my ear.

The voice was so unexpected, so alien, that I flinched and dropped the phone. It bounced onto the kitchen bench and I made a clumsy grab for it. My hand bumped into the chopping board and sent it crashing down onto the bug. _Guess hiding isn't that great after all._

'Alex Craig?' the voice said again as I stuck the phone to my ear.

'Speaking,' I answered, trying not to shudder. What was wrong with me?

Whoever was on the other end of the line gave a little chuckle. 'Good,' it said. 'Can you give your friend Hex a little message for me?' As though anticipating my next question, it added, 'I can't find his number in the phone book. Must be private.'

I almost dropped the phone again. Definitely not normal. 'Ah...'

'Tell him-' another gurgling laugh '-it's good to keep your loved ones close, but he's doing a shit job on the enemies part. They're the ones you need to watch.'

'Okay...' I'd started to back away, even though the phone was coming with me.

The voice breathed heavily for a second and then, as though they'd just remembered something, added quickly, 'Say hi to... Amber for me.'

There was a click in my ear and I dropped the phone onto the table as if it were glowing red hot. My new single status forgotten, I grabbed my coat and bolted out the door. What had Hex gotten himself into now?

**

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**

Once I arrived at work, I parked the car and rushed for the lift which was finally working after months of having displayed an "out of order" sign. Some of the officers were still using the stairs as routine, not even bothering to check and see if the lift was working. Harry had joked that the elevator was deliberately staying out of order so that the fitness levels of the officers would increase.

'Come on, come on,' I chanted under my breath. The message for Hex had got me in a panic, though why, I had no idea. Okay, so the person hadn't said who they were, had had a creepy voice and left a weird, almost threatening message for me to pass on, but what grounds did that give me to judge? Hex had his variety of colourful and out-there contacts, some of those from questionable backgrounds, and he was a hacker, obsessed with codes and whatnot, so maybe the person had just given me a coded message. I shook my head and jumped out of the elevator as it arrived on the fourth floor.

'Alex! I was wondering when you'd show up.' Li barrelled along the hall and pulled up just centimetres from me. She winked. 'Not like you to sleep in, hey?'

I swallowed hard and pasted a smile on my face, hoping it didn't look as fake as it felt. 'Yeah. First time for everything.'

'Oh, Alex, what's the matter?' Nothing got past Li. She was by my side in a split second, one hand on my shoulder, her eyes filled with concern. 'Did I say the wrong thing? I'm sorry.'

'No, no, no,' I protested, shaking my head. 'I said the wrong thing, not you.'

'What?' Li was baffled.

I sighed. 'Laura and I had a big argument this morning and she walked out. I am now single again.'

Li made sympathetic noises and squeezed my shoulder. 'She's a complete fool then.' A grin lit up her face. 'Feel better now I've inflated your ego?'

'Kind of.' Smiling back, I tried to seem as sincere as possible. Li was doing her best to make me feel better, but, oddly, it was making me feel worse.

'Don't lie.'

I laughed, genuinely this time. Yep. Nothing got past Li. I said so and she chuckled as well.

'I'm perceptive. Handy skill to have when you've got friends in denial. So,' she added, 'this little argument with Laura. Want to talk about it?'

'Um...'

'No pressure,' she said hurriedly as I hesitated. 'But, if you ever need an ear to bash, I'm here.'

I smiled. 'Thanks, Li. I really appreciate it.'

Paulo breezed towards us, looking amused. 'Watch your backs,' he said as he stopped next to us. 'Hex is coming and-' he shot a quick glance up and down the empty hall and lowered his voice '-he's just been involved in a bit of a disagreement with our lovely boss.'

'Why the secrecy?' Li whispered back.

Shrugging, Paulo answered, ''Cause we can?'

Li rolled her eyes and whacked his arm, making Paulo's smile widen.

'Can't keep her hands off me,' he said to me, then ducked as Li went to hit him again. She could've floored him in seconds, but wouldn't have dreamt of it in a million years. That was real affection.

My mind drifted again as the two of them continued flirting. Where would Hex have gone after his fight with Abigail? Normally the money would have been on Amber, but she was having a day off, so who else was left apart from us?

'I'm going to go see Mara and Neil. Bye guys,' I called over my shoulder. Li and Paulo raised a hand then went back to teasing each other. I rolled my eyes and stepped into the elevator again. Up to level seven and down to office Five-A.

Neil opened the door with a weary expression on his face. 'Alex. Gosh, I haven't seen you in ages. Come on in. We're on our first coffee break.'

'At nine o'clock?' I asked as I followed him in.

Neil dismissed the joking tone in my voice and nodded. 'Abigail's working us so hard, I think we need it.'

Inside the poky office, Mara was half asleep in her chair and Hex was glaring into his cup of coffee. I gulped. Paulo hadn't been exaggerating. Hex was furious.

'Morning,' I said as cheerfully as possible.

Hex grunted and didn't look up but Mara stirred and gave me a warm smile.

'Good morning, Alex. How are you?' she asked, struggling upright.

'I've been better. You?'

'Same. I'm so tired I want to curl up in a ball and die.'

Neil laughed. 'Tad drastic isn't it?'

Looking and sounding completely serious, Mara said, 'When you're working under the female reincarnation of Hitler, nothing is too drastic.'

'Hex! I almost forgot!' I babbled, wanting to steer Mara away from any violent thoughts that might've been creeping up.

His head came up, eyebrows drawn together in an anxious frown. For the first time, I realised just how old Hex looked. And not just Hex. Li, Paulo, Amber, Mara, Neil, me... We were all in our early twenties and yet we could have passed as ten years older. Stress, fatigue and a tonne of emotionally draining times had piled years on us all, years we'd probably never get back if we kept working for MI5, under Abigail.

'Someone rang me this morning, just before I left. Didn't leave a name, but they had a really raspy voice. They said to tell you that it's good to keep your loved ones close, but you're doing a shit job on the enemies part.' I thought hard. There was something else... 'And they said to say hi to Amber for them.'

Hex looked at me, his face thoughtful. I'd expected either panic or recognition so it was a pleasant surprise. 'A prank call? But they knew my name and Amber's, so not likely, although...'

I tuned out as Hex went through numerous possibilities out loud. Neil handed me a cup of coffee and I drank it without tasting it. Finally, Hex stood up, his expression unreadable. He'd been silent for a few minutes so I looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to blow us away with the conclusion he'd come to.

'I need to go see Amber. Cover for me until I get back.' He swept out of the room, leaving Mara snoozing in the chair again and Neil and I clutching our now coffee-free mugs. I had a really bad feeling about the phantom caller and there was nothing I could do except sit and wait.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

_**Amber**_

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The washing machine gave a shudder and stopped. I growled and stomped back into the laundry, wrenched open the lid and rearranged the clothes inside. Dropping the lid back down, I waited for the usual swishy sounds. Nothing. Taking a few deep breaths, I moved the washing around again and slammed the lid shut. The machine worked for about five seconds, almost a record.

'Argh!' I kicked the front of the washing machine. 'Die in a hole!'

It obviously didn't hear me or didn't care because it just sat there silently, not washing the clothes like it was supposed to.

For the fifth time that morning, I pulled some of the washing out and dumped it on the laundry floor. The pile of half clean washing now gracing the floor was almost double the amount actually in the washing machine.

'Finally,' I said in relief as the machine started again. Quickly, I rushed out of the laundry and slammed the door shut. Maybe if I pretended it worked, it would.

Spying the pad of paper on the fridge, I grabbed a pen and scribbled "We are buying a new washing machine, or else." I dropped the pen onto the counter and returned the pad to its place, satisfied that Hex would see it when he came home from work. Whenever that would be. Ever since Abigail had taken over, the hours we all worked were horribly erratic. Yeah, being an officer working for the Secret Service would never have been classified as a nine-to-five job, but at least with Harry we'd had some idea of when we'd start and finish each day. Now... Not a chance. The pad on the fridge used to be just for items we'd run out of and needed to buy next time one of us was at the shops, but now doubled as a noticeboard for important issues. I really hoped that wouldn't have to continue for too long.

Thinking of Abigail, I began to see red. Even though I could no longer hear the washing machine- usually a sign that it had stopped working- I decided to not go and check it. Poor, defenceless, inanimate objects could easily get hurt when I was in a bad mood.

'She doesn't trust us, you know,' I said to my reflection in the hall mirror. 'She hasn't even given us another chance. Just assumes that we're snotty-nosed junior officers who'll stuff up anything given to them.'

My reflection didn't respond, just blinked back at me.

'I mean, yeah, last mission ended badly, but our two missions before that...' I stopped, thinking. 'Maybe we don't know what we're doing,' I said slowly. 'I mean, first mission, Tanya... And I nearly... And then our second mission... And then last time...'

Once again, my reflection blinked at me. This time, though, I took it as confirmation.

'Maybe it's me. Maybe I don't know what I'm doing. I always seem to be the one in trouble, having to get other people to risk their lives to bail me out. Though you're right, I suppose,' I added, looking at my reflection, 'Paulo _was_ the one who needed rescuing in our second mission. But still, two out of three where I've been stupid enough to walk straight into danger... That's high odds. And that's not even counting our time as Alpha Force.'

The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that it was my fault we'd been dumped behind a desk for the past ten months. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that maybe it was time to make a strategic career change. The more I thought about it, the more confused I became.

'Okay. Enough of that,' I decided aloud, walking away from my new buddy, my reflection, and heading for the living room. My laptop was still sitting open on the coffee table because the washing machine had momentarily stopped me from checking my emails.

I logged on and sifted through the usual junk that always seems to clog up inboxes, no matter what your email provider says. There were two from friends back in Boston that I wrote lengthy replies to. Reading about how their normal, everyday lives were going half a world away, I started thinking again. Not really paying attention, I clicked open an email and started to skim read through it. Only when I reached the end, did the meaning of the email sink in.

'Well, then.' I sat back and ran a hand through my hair, my eyes darting over the words on the screen once more. 'This is either the answer to all my problems... or another issue to add to the pile.'

The phone trilled in the kitchen and I jumped to my feet. Grabbing the phone, I'd barely put it to my ear before Hex was babbling down the line.

'Amber. Hey. How's your day been so far?'

I was immediately on my guard. The email had distracted me, but not so much that I'd not notice Hex making small talk. 'What's the matter?' I said. 'Don't say nothing, because the only time you chat is when something's wrong.'

Hex gave a small, forced chuckle. 'Okay, okay. Look, can you come down to that little coffee shop thing down the street from work? Now?'

'Um, I suppose so. Any particular reason?'

'Nope. None at all. Just need to talk to you about something. Bye.'

With that rather abrupt goodbye, the phone clicked in my ear and the dial tone sounded. I put the phone back on the hook feeling even more confused.

**

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**

'Hey.' Hex came up behind me and kissed my cheek before sitting down across from me.

I looked steadily at him. 'What's going on? Why the urgency? I mean, I have something important to tell you as well, but I was going to wait until you got home.'

That knocked him a bit. 'What?'

'Never mind. You tell me whatever's got you in such a tizz and, if we've got time, I'll tell you my news.'

Still looking a bit hesitant now, Hex cleared his throat. 'You haven't noticed anything... suspicious this morning, have you?'

'Only you.' I sighed, feeling slightly frustrated, but, at the same time, his words got me starting to worry. I'd walked over from our flat and, the entire way there, I'd felt as though someone was following me. Putting it down to paranoia, I'd brushed it off. But what if I wasn't paranoid? We'd made enough enemies over the years. 'Please, Hex. For once in your life, can you just say what you need to say without all the mystery? Please?'

He stared at me for a moment then reached across the table and took hold of my hand. 'You know I care about you, right?'

'Yeah, I do, but can you just cut to the chase?'

'I am, I am. So, I care about you, okay? Therefore, you can't say that I'm overreacting. Alright?'

That didn't exactly fill me with confidence. 'Overreact about what?' He didn't answer straight away and the little shred of confidence I had left ran away and hid. 'Hex! Overreact about what?'

'Alex got a phone call this morning. Someone, we don't know who, with a raspy voice asked him to give me a message.'

I almost didn't want to ask but I found myself saying, 'What message?'

'The exact words were: tell him it's good to keep his loved ones close, but he's doing a shit job on the enemies part. They're the ones you need to watch. And,' he added, 'whoever it was said for me to say hi to you for them.'

I had no idea how to respond, so I said nothing.

Hex obviously took my lack of reaction as conformation that I thought he _was_ overreacting. 'You can't seriously think that's nothing. That's a bloody threat!'

'Hex...' These were dangerous waters to be treading in, but I ploughed ahead. 'Look, it _is_ probably nothing.'

He shook his head. 'I knew it. I knew you'd say that,' he said almost to himself. Raising his voice so I could hear him properly again, he continued: 'But what if it's not nothing? What if this is a genuine threat? What if-'

I waited for him to continue and, when he didn't, I prompted him with a hand flourish. When that didn't work I pinched his hand.

'Ow!' He scowled. 'What was that for?'

'What if what?'

There was a brief pause then: 'Jasper Price.'

I slumped in my chair, shaking my head so hard I thought it'd fall off. 'No. No, no, no. He's serving a life sentence. In jail,' I added, just in case there was any confusion. 'How could... No.'

'It's a possibility. A likely possibility.'

'No,' I said firmly. 'It's not.'

'But you gotta admit-'

'_No_.'

We sat in silence, glaring at each other until Hex sighed and averted his eyes.

'Now,' I cut in as he opened his mouth, no doubt about to try and resume our argument, 'my news.' I pulled the folded email I'd printed off out of my pocket and slid it across the tabletop towards Hex.

Regarding it like it was explosive, Hex tentatively picked it up with two fingers and unfolded it. He read it quickly, then pushed it back towards me and shrugged.

'That's it? That's your input?' I was a tad pissed off.

'Well, I don't mind either way. It's your decision really.'

'How is it just my decision, Hex? In case you've forgotten, we're a couple now and that's what couples do. Decide things together. Not just say, 'Your decision,' and carry on with life.'

'Now who's overreacting?' Hex said, looking amused.

My anger dropped away and I sighed, something I seemed to be doing a lot lately. 'Sorry, it's just, I don't know what I want to do any more and I was sort of hoping you'd have a clear answer of what you wanted and I could just follow along behind.'

'Did I just hear that?' Hex gasped. 'Did Amber Middleton just say that she wanted someone else to make a decision for her?'

'Yeah, yeah. Whack it on a billboard. Make it a national holiday. Call a talkback radio station.'

He smiled and then went all serious again. 'Look. You want to know what I want? I want to be with you. So, if that means we stay here and continue working under the biggest bitch since my fifth grade science teacher, so be it. If it means we go back to Boston and learn how to run your family's business, that's fine by me too. I don't care, as long as you're happy and we're together. Okay?'

I ducked my head to hide my smile. 'You know, Hex, you can be really sweet when you put the effort in.'

'Effort? That was me at my natural, charming self. You haven't seen nothing yet.'

I gave his hand a squeeze as he got up. 'So, we can talk about this later?'

'Sure.' I stood and he handed me my coat. 'I'll give you a lift back home before I head into work again.'

I looked at my watch. 'It's okay. You better go before Abigail finds out you've skipped off.'

'She can deal with it. I can take you home.'

My eyes narrowed as I realised. 'Hang on a minute. Hex, I'm not going to get killed by the mysterious caller on my way home. It's three blocks away, not even that if I cut through the park. I walked here okay, I can walk back okay.'

Hex looked like he was going to argue, then caught my expression and stopped. 'You sure? I mean, it's no-'

'I'm sure. I can look after myself, Hex.' I gave him a quick kiss and left, calling, 'Bye!' over my shoulder.

Rain had started to fall while I'd been inside the coffee shop and I stuck my head down and walked as fast as I could. Deciding that going through the park would be the best option, I trotted down the path, lost in my thoughts, not really paying attention to what was going on around me.

There was someone sitting on a bench up ahead, hunched over and clad in an anorak. I gave them a quick glance and continued on, not sensing any threat. It wasn't until I drew level with them and the person stood up did I get a bit freaked out. And when they pushed back the anorak's hood and grabbed my arm I almost dropped dead on the spot.

'Annie,' Jasper said. 'It's been a while.'


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

_**Hex**_

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**

I stopped just inside the lobby at Headquarters, my hand hovering over the pocket holding my phone. After going so far as to start to pull the phone out, I stopped and really considered what I was about to do. If I called Amber and she didn't answer her phone, what could I do apart from worry? And if she did answer her phone and realise it was just me checking up on her, I'd be in a huge amount of trouble. Sighing, I slipped the phone back into my pocket and continued across the lobby towards the lift.

Alex's office was on level three, right down the very end. It had the sort of clutter that didn't look untidy but gave it a great lived in, homely feel. He was also one of the lucky few that had been assigned their own office, small though it was. I didn't bother knocking, just pushed open the door and walked straight in.

'Hello,' I said cheerfully, plonking myself down in the visitor's chair. Alex barely glanced up before he went back to reading the pile of paper in front of him and I immediately sensed he wasn't himself. 'What's wrong?'

Sighing, Alex chucked the paper down on the desk and put his head in his hands. 'I stuffed up.'

My thoughts leapt to work; had Alex missed some important detail that would have Abigail skin him alive? 'How?'

'Laura.'

I'd only met Alex's girlfriend once or twice in the 18 months or so they'd been dating and she seemed like an okay sort of person. Perfect for Alex, were Li and Amber's opinions. Paulo had made some wisecrack about Alex being the only guy getting any action and Li had hit him. Usual stuff. We'd been snowed under with work with hardly any time for social outings, so any further "getting to know you" had had to be postponed.

'You stuffed up?' I asked, feeling a bit confused. 'How did you stuff up exactly?'

Alex sighed again and slumped in his seat. 'She was... getting clucky. Constantly talking about us settling down, starting a family...'

'And you don't want to?'

'Of course I do,' he replied defensively, 'it's just that now isn't the best time. In a few years, when I've sorted out all these work issues and actually have a place to live that's bigger than your average shoebox, of course. And Laura would be a great mum. She works with kids every day. She loves children. She's all sorted as to how she'd raise them...'

I looked at Alex's forlorn face and it clicked. 'She doesn't know about you being with the Secret Service, does she?'

'No. She thinks I work in a bank,' Alex mumbled. 'I just- I hate lying to her and I couldn't deal with having to lie to my kids.'

'But if you told her you'd be breaking that thing we signed- Official Secrets whoever- and-'

'Putting her in danger,' Alex finished. 'Not to mention what could happen to our kids.'

'So how did you stuff up?'

A third sigh whistled through Alex's lips. Why do sighs make you feel so depressed? 'I told her, loosely, why I didn't want to have kids just yet and she flipped. Said I obviously didn't love her as much as I say I do, that I wasn't as committed to our relationship as she was.' He shrugged, his face sad. 'And then she finished with "maybe we should have a break" and walked out.'

'So she broke up with you?'

'Basically.' Alex leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head. 'Hex, I'll give you some advice. If Amber ever gets clucky like that, you've got two choices: one, say something dumb like I did and wind up single again; two, just agree to whatever she's saying.'

My expression must have been one of absolute panic because Alex laughed. I pushed the rather terrifying thoughts now floating around in my head away and joined in.

Li bursting through the office door, definitely not chuckling along, halted our laughter.

'You look like you've seen a ghost,' remarked Alex. He seemed a bit more relaxed now, less tense and stressed, and I mentally patted myself on the back for a job well done.

Li, leaning heavily against the door, looked straight at me and said two words that made the panic I'd felt at the thought of Amber getting clucky seem like nothing at all. 'Price escaped.'

I swear I stopped breathing and I had to force out a strangled, 'What?'

'Price escaped,' Li repeated in the exact same tone with the exact same expression. 'I overheard Abigail talking to some guy about it.'

'When?' My voice still wasn't functioning properly, my thoughts on the phone call that we'd all more or less chosen to ignore.

'Late last night, very early this morning. He was there when the inmates were all locked up for the night, gone when they were let out of their cells.' She bit her lip, ran a hand through her hair. 'They've got every available police officer for half of London out searching but it's not looking good.'

'Do they think he's skipped the country or something?' I asked . 'Or just hiding out?'

Li shrugged.

Thoughts were tumbling around in my head faster than I could process them. Had Price escaped purely because he couldn't handle prison? When Amber had gone to see him in jail shortly after he'd been sentenced, she'd said something about him not being able to handle it. So was it just him being a coward, trying to run away from the consequences he inflicted on himself? Or was it something else, something much worse? Had he escaped to get revenge? I rubbed my temples and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down.

'Hex?' Li was standing next to me, peering at me with concern. 'Maybe you should call Amber. You know, just to check she's- I mean, she's probably fine, you know, but just in case...'

I nodded and slipped my phone out of my pocket. The rings continued for what seemed like forever and then I heard Amber's voice.

'...not here at the moment. Please leave a message and we'll call you back.'

The beep sounded and I said, 'Amber? It's Hex. Can you pick up if you're there? Hello? Amber, this is sort of important and I think-'

'Hey, Hex.'

'Oh, thank God.' I gave a sigh of relief and slumped back in my chair. 'You're okay?'

She sounded a bit confused, a bit guarded, as she replied, 'Of course. Why wouldn't I be?'

I frowned, but before I could respond, Amber was babbling away again.

'I need to speak to you. And Alex, Paulo and Li. Mara and Neil as well. Soon. Now would be great. Can you bunk off work and come home?'

'Yeah,' I replied slowly. Something really wasn't right. 'Are you sure you're-'

'Gotta go! See you all soon.'

The dial tone sounded in my ear and I slowly lowered the phone. Li and Alex were both watching me carefully.

'Well?' Li demanded when I stayed silent.

I put my phone away and stood up. 'She said she needs to speak to us- and Paulo, Mara and Neil- as soon as possible.'

'Why?' Li shuffled out of the way as I fetched my coat and then grabbed my arm when I tried to continue past her.

I shook my head. 'Dunno.'

'But she's okay?'

'She said she's fine,' I answered, shaking her off. 'But we should really get going.'

Li nodded and then turned around to Alex. 'Come on.' There was a pause and then Li added, worriedly, 'Alex?'

I spun around and headed back inside Alex's office to find him sitting in his chair, looking a bit stunned. For the first time since Li had come into the office, I realised he hadn't said a word since we'd been told Price had escaped.

'Alex?' Li repeated. She shot me a _help!_ look and I moved further into the room.

'It's okay, mate,' I said softly. We all hated Price for various reasons, had all been affected by Harry's death- murder more likely- but it really had hit Alex the hardest. And who could blame him? He'd been there when Price had shot Harry, had seen our boss die. Then there was the fact that Alex still blamed himself for Harry's death. We'd all had counselling of one form or another at various intervals over the past ten months, but Alex still wasn't quite right. Post-traumatic stress was what Mara said he had. Whatever it was, counselling had been helping bugger all and the news that Price was out of jail was the last thing he needed right now.

Inhaling deeply, Alex gave his head a brief shake and then stood up. 'Sorry,' he said as we all walked to the door.

Li put her arm around his shoulders, somewhat awkwardly as she was fairly short. 'Don't apologise, Alex. Take all the time you need.'

He smiled his thanks and then jerked backwards suddenly, darting to a half open doorway. 'You lot!' he called. 'Come on. We're being rebels.'

Paulo, Mara and Neil emerged and followed Alex back to Li and I, waiting patiently in the hallway.

'Where are we going?' Mara asked with something resembling an evil glint twinkling in her eyes.

'Amber and Hex's flat,' Li explained as we continued walking.

'Any particular reason?' Neil asked, then added, looking at me, 'Or do you just want to piss Abigail off?'

I grinned and shrugged. 'Bit of both. Well, mainly the former; annoying Abigail is just a bonus.'

'So what's the occasion?' Mara piped up from the back.

In a hushed tone, Li quickly filled her, Neil and Paulo in on what had happened. Mara ground her teeth together and snarled, while Neil's eyes just widened. Paulo didn't look fazed, just nodded and frowned slightly.

As we reached the lobby, Neil did a quick head count and came to the conclusion that we wouldn't all fit into one car.

'I can drive,' he offered, 'but I'll need to either follow behind or have someone come with me that can provide directions.'

'I'll come with you and Mara,' Li decided.

The three of them split off and trotted in the direction of the main entrance. I glanced at Paulo who was already taking his keys out of his jacket pocket.

'No offence, Hex,' he said with a grin, 'but your driving makes me feel ill.'

I pasted on an expression of mock shock, but it quickly fell from my face. I was just a tiny bit anxious, a tiny bit worried, about Amber's safety, even though she'd insisted she was fine.

We headed out of the side exit and came out in the parking lot. My guess was that Paulo must have arrived at work super early that morning because his car was parked within half a mile of Headquarters. Because I'd left to meet Amber while some people were still arriving, my car now sat at the far end of the car park, completely out of sight.

As we piled into Paulo's car, I couldn't help the little niggling feeling of worry that kept chewing away at my insides. Call me paranoid, call me overprotective... I was both of those and more, but there was something about Amber's weird behaviour and the fact that Price had escaped from jail that just didn't sit right with me.

The short car trip was uneventful and Paulo pulled up just as Li, Mara and Neil were getting out of the car.

'We beat you!' Li taunted, looking very smug and sure of herself standing outside the front door.

I rolled my eyes and elbowed past her to get to the door. 'Amber?' I called.

'In the kitchen.'

Paulo, Li, Alex, Neil and Mara followed behind as I headed in the direction of Amber's voice. She was perched on one of the kitchen stools, paper and yellow manila folders spread all over the bench.

'What's all that?' I asked.

'Huh?' Amber looked at me, a distracted frown on her face. 'What's all what?'

I pointed at the paper.

'Oh.' She sighed and dropped the pages she'd been clutching onto the bench, rubbing her forehead. 'Come and sit down, guys. Does anyone want a water? Juice? Tea? Coffee?'

After everyone declined, Li sprang up and sat on the edge of the bench leaving Paulo, Neil, Mara and Alex to take the remaining four seats. I went and stood beside Amber, wondering what the heck was going on.

'Okay,' Amber said once we were all settled. 'Do you know that Jasper escaped from prison?'

We all nodded and Amber looked a bit shocked. As Li gave Amber a quick summary of what had happened while we'd been at work, I couldn't help but notice that Amber was the only person who called Price by his first name. That fact was a tad unsettling but I tried to push it out of my head.

'How do you know?' Mara said. 'I mean, we wouldn't have ever known unless Li eavesdropped.'

Li grinned like a monkey with a bunch of bananas.

Amber cleared her throat. 'I... bumped into him on my way home.'

For the next minute there was complete silence as we all gaped and blinked at Amber. She shrunk down in her seat, averted her eyes and eventually continued.

'He wanted to talk to me about something,' she added in a rush. 'Something he said was really important.' Avoiding my gaze, Amber pushed one of the files towards me and flipped open the cover. 'It's probably best if you read it for yourselves.'

Slowly, I picked up the top page and read the sheet. The page was filled with tiny, neat handwriting and it took me a while to reach the bottom. When I'd finished, I carefully replaced it in the file and looked at Amber in confusion.

She bit her lip and dropped her gaze again. 'Jasper thinks that there's a group of rich businessmen who have created something, some machine that could wreak havoc across the globe. He wants us to look into it. That's why he escaped from jail, to come and ask us for help.'

There was a cry of outrage from Alex that was quickly echoed by Neil and Mara. Li and Paulo stayed silent, their eyes fixed on Amber who was staring at me.

'What?' I demanded.

Amber didn't answer, just kept looking at me.

I blinked at her in astonishment. 'Amber, this is the man who tried to kill you, who killed Harry, who just escaped from prison. You can't seriously be considering trusting him, believing him, and actually looking into this.'

'What if he's right?' she said softly.

'What if this is a trap?' I snapped. 'Have you even considered the real reason he escaped? Revenge maybe?'

'Don't be ridiculous, Hex. He's not going to-'

'And how do you know that? This man is a criminal. A murderer. A drug dealer. You can't trust him. Ever.'

'People change, Hex. You should know that.'

All my arguments fell out of my head and crawled away under the sofa. I swallowed hard and looked pleadingly at Amber. If anything happened to her... She turned away, her eyes flicking from Li, to Paulo, to Mara, to Neil and finally to Alex who was huddled in the corner, his eyes shut.

'I'm going to look into it,' she announced in a small voice, sounding so unlike Amber I almost jumped. 'I'd appreciate any help you guys could give me, but I'll understand if you don't want to.'

No one answered.

'Why are you doing this?' Alex's eyes snapped open, his voice thick with emotion.

Amber shook her head slightly, like she wasn't sure of the answer, but when she answered she sounded confident and certain of her reasons. 'People change. They deserve second chances. You can't go through life holding grudges, disliking people for the rest of eternity.'

'I sure as hell can,' Alex murmured.

I felt sick. The situation had moved way beyond my control and there wasn't a thing I could do about it.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

_**Li**_

**

* * *

**

Hex's face was almost agonising to look at. Shock, horror, love, worry, anger... Every emotion possible played across his features and then disappeared just as quickly. Lately I'd noticed he was finding it harder to remain poker faced and I wondered if Amber had anything to do with it.

'That phone call this morning,' he said finally. 'What if that-'

'No.' Amber shook her head. 'If Jasper really did want to kill me, he wouldn't have called and made a threat. He wouldn't have given me the chance to be on my guard. And besides,' she added when Hex didn't look convinced, 'if your assumptions are in fact correct, why didn't he just kill me in the park when he had the chance? There wasn't anyone about. Why bother gathering all this evidence and passing it on to me?'

Looking as though he was struggling to stay calm, Hex gave an exasperated sigh. 'You're not going to back down, are you?'

Amber stubbornly lifted her chin and defiance flashed in her eyes. 'No.'

After a moment's silence, Hex mirrored her expression. 'Fine. I'm helping.'

'Good. I'd be upset if you weren't,' Amber replied chirpily, smiling sweetly at Hex. He scowled, muttered something under his breath and left the kitchen.

Having felt like a bit of a spectator of late, I felt it was time to voice my opinion. 'I think I'd like to help too, Amber. If that's okay with you.'

'Of course, Li.' She gave me a grateful smile.

I grimaced. 'Anything beats sitting in a dinghy office. Only potential danger there is getting a paper cut.'

My eyes wandered over to the other side of the bench. Was it just me or was Paulo looking slightly worried now? Amber had called me a hypocrite on numerous occasions and, although I'd never admit it and give her the satisfaction of being right, she was actually one hundred percent correct. My relationship with Paulo was about as certain as Amber and Hex's had been up until ten months ago. I didn't know whether I wanted to change things or just leave them be. Using herself as an example, Amber had now reversed our roles and constantly hounded me on the subject. Once again I'd never admit anything, but I now know how Amber had felt when I pressured her about Hex. A frustrated sigh escaped my lips and Amber looked sharply at me and smirked, pointedly raising her eyebrows in Paulo's direction.

Paulo, completely oblivious, noticed Amber's stare and jumped. 'What?' he said quickly. 'Why are you looking at me like that?'

'No reason.' Amber put on her best innocent face which made Paulo look even more worried.

I decided to get the discussion back on track. 'Okay,' I said in a rush, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Amber. She smirked again and I glared at her, seriously regretting all the years of teasing and annoying her. 'So Amber, Hex and I are investigating Price's claims. Who else?'

Paulo cleared his throat. 'Me.'

The linoleum gave a squeak as Mara pushed her stool further forward. 'I'll help with intelligence, but I won't be doing anything more than that and I certainly won't be associating with Price,' she said, spitting out the name like it was a bad taste.

'I'll help Mara,' Neil offered.

That left just Alex. Everyone swivelled to face him. He glared at us from the corner.

'Alex...' Amber trailed off, biting her lip.

'This is wrong,' he spat.

Paulo cut in before Alex could continue. 'This is just the same as if we had of got a tipoff from a member of the public. We'd gather what information they know and then do our own investigating.' He pointed to the pages spread all over the bench. 'That's all step one, now we need to move on to step two.'

Alex was shaking his head even before Paulo stopped speaking. 'He's not just a member of the public. He's a _criminal_. He's escaped from jail. Technically you could all be arrested.' His expression softened and he looked at his hands clenched in his lap. 'I'm not going to stop you,' he added quietly, 'but I'm certainly not helping. Not now. I can't...' With that, Alex got up and left. The front door slammed.

There was a sad silence.

'Should someone go after him?' Mara asked. 'I mean, you know... just to make sure he's okay.'

I shook my head. 'No. He'll be fine.' I hoped the doubt that I felt didn't show in my words but no one pressed the point so I guessed I'd succeeded. Despite having brushed off Mara's concerns, I was really worried about Alex. He hadn't been the same since our last mission and I couldn't help wondering if, by looking into Price's accusations, we'd made the whole situation worse. Panic gripped my heart. Would Alex ever trust us again? Had we just ruined over a decade of friendship with him?

Standing up, I muttered, 'Actually, I'll just go and see how he is,' and fled from the room.

Outside, Alex hadn't gone far. He was sitting on a bench just twenty metres or so down the street. I headed over to him and sat down, not speaking, waiting for him to say something. When he finally did speak, I was surprised by his words.

'Am I overreacting?'

I blinked at him, wondering where that had come from. 'What do you mean?'

Sighing, Alex shrugged. 'You know. How I acted in there.' His hand waved briefly at Amber and Hex's flat before falling to his lap again.

Taking the physiatrist approach, which we'd told by the therapist could help situations like the one I was currently in, I said, 'Do _you_ think you overreacted?'

There was silence until Alex said in a voice that was barely a whisper, 'You guys weren't there.'

Not knowing what to say, I put my arms around Alex and gave him a hug. He hugged me back and I was shocked when he started crying.

'Alex?' I pulled back and looked at him with concern. 'Do you want to keep talking? I can shut up if you want.'

He shook his head and wiped his eyes. When had I ever seen Alex cry? Occasionally, especially in the first few awful weeks after Harry's death, I'd see him walking around with red, puffy eyes, but that was about it. Like Hex, Alex had usually kept a tight rein on his emotions. Unlike Hex, Alex did it mainly to try and be the strong one in the group, the rock when everyone else was in pieces. It was a role he'd just seemed to have adopted shortly after we all had met and we loved him for it.

'It's okay,' he said. 'But can we talk about something else?'

'Sure thing.' I looked about for inspiration and found nothing. 'Ah...'

He laughed and shrugged, standing up. 'I'm going to head back to work. Tell- Tell the others I'm sorry, but I can't...'

I nodded knowing what he was trying to say. Giving him a quick hug, I started back inside, feeling slightly better, but still guilty. Alex was hurting and we were rubbing salt in his wounds. I pushed open the door and went inside.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

_**Paulo**_

**

* * *

**

Li came back in and sat down in Alex's seat next to me. 'Alex said he's sorry for how he acted,' she said, 'but he can't help us. Not right now.' She shot a pleading look around the table. 'You guys all understand, right?'

We nodded and Li gave a tight smile. Hex reappeared in the doorway, seeming a bit more composed and centred than when he'd left.

'So,' he said as he leaned against the sink. Raising an eyebrow, he looked at Amber. 'How are we approaching this?'

Regarding Hex with fake contempt and a twinkle in her eyes, Amber replied, '_You're_ the one who always has a plan, gadget boy.' I smiled inwardly at the old nickname.

'Exactly,' Hex rejoined. 'All the more reason why _you_ should come up with a plan this time.'

Rolling her eyes, Amber - very deliberately - turned her back on Hex and addressed the rest of us. 'Any ideas, guys?'

Mara, absentmindedly twirling the bracelet on her wrist, said, 'Well, mine and Neil's job is fairly straightforward, right? You just give us whatever you want searched and we'll deal with it.'

Hex plucked several sheets of paper and a pen from the bench and started to scribble down details, passing them to Neil when he was done. 'They're the names that Price has supplied. Can you get background checks on them? Maybe a few more details. Something slightly more concrete than what we've got so far.'

Neil nodded, slipping the paper into his pocket. 'I think _I'll_ keep a hold of this. Mara'll just lose it.' He grinned as she stuck her tongue out at him. _Well, well, well, _I thought_. What do we have here? Another office romance blossoming? _My eyes flicked to Li and I quickly turned my gaze to the table as if it was the most fascinating object on earth as she looked my way.

'Paulo?' Hex's voice was impatient and I guessed that he'd been trying to get my attention for a while.

'What?' I said. 'Sorry. I was... thinking.'

'Are you willing to go undercover?'

I blinked at him. 'When? Where?'

'We're not exactly sure of all the details- that'll come once Mara and Neil have got a bit more information for us- but just so we have a bit of a plan,' Hex explained.

'Oh. Yeah. Sure. Undercover. Right.'

He gave me a funny look. 'You right, mate?'

I nodded and he let it go then turned to Li. 'What about you, Li? You willing?'

'You bet,' she responded enthusiastically. She gave an impish grin. 'Finally. Action!'

Amber put a halt to her excitement. 'Not just yet, Li. We might have quite a bit of boring stuff to do first - sorting through files and documents and...' She paused dramatically and then continued, 'Surveillance.'

There was a groan from everyone. Surveillance was duller than dull. Even _I _found it hard to stay positive when stuck in a van with four or five other people for hours on end. And when those four other people were my best friends, it was even worse. While I loved being around her, Li was a pain in the ass when it came to surveillance. She'd get bored as soon as we started, begin to bounce around the van, knock stuff over... Nightmare. Amber and Hex would argue, about anything and everything. Alex... I thought about Alex and realised that he'd never really been annoying when we were doing surveillance. He'd just sit quietly and get the job done. _Pity he's not helping us_, I thought sadly.

'What about you two?' Li asked, nodding in Hex and Amber's direction. 'We've all got jobs. What're you two doing?'

Hex answered quickly, not letting Amber get a word in. 'Someone needs to monitor all the technology we'll be using, microphones and cameras and such. Amber and I'll be stationed in a van or wherever so that we can keep an eye on you two.' He gave Amber a look that said _and that's final_ and I winced, expecting a barrage of abuse to follow. If there was one thing Amber hated it was being babied, something which Hex seemed to have developed quite a habit of lately.

Amazingly, Amber just nodded.

Hex gaped. 'You're not disagreeing? You're not telling me to stop trying to protect you?'

'No. I- I think it's probably best if I don't go undercover, that's all.' Amber's voice said _end of topic_, but Hex didn't seem to pick up on it.

'Why?' He folded his arms across his chest. I saw Amber tense up. What was going on?

'Just because,' she snapped. 'Can we leave it?'

Hex was taken aback. His expression switched from amused to worried. 'Amber? What's wrong?'

'I just don't think I should go undercover.'

'Why?' Hex repeated. I winced, expecting Amber to turn into the Incredible Hulk and go on a rampage. But Hex had developed a sort of immunity lately, so nothing quite that exciting happened.

She gave a tired, defeated sigh and picked at the edge of the bench. 'I don't think I can do it. Two missions when I've had to go undercover I've stuffed up. I don't want there to be a third.'

Hex frowned. 'How? When?'

'First mission,' Amber started, holding up one finger and staring straight at Hex. 'I almost burnt to death and Tanya was killed. Lilia nearly skipped the country. Last mission'- another finger flicked up- 'I almost drowned and had to be rescued by you. Harry was killed. I was on the verge of being chucked off a twenty-something story balcony. Colin escaped.' She dropped her hand. 'Two is two more than necessary and that's not even counting the scraps I've gotten myself into when we were kids. I don't want to put anyone else in danger. I don't want to stuff it all up.'

I decided it was time to step in. 'I've messed up as well. Our second mission, remember? I had to be rescued and we were all almost shot.'

'We thought you were dead. Twice,' Li said soberly from the corner.

'Everyone makes mistakes, Amber. Not just you.' Hex reached over and put a hand on her arm.

Amber regarded Hex's hand and, when she looked up, I was relieved that she had a teasing smile on her face. 'Well then,' she said brightly, looking at Hex. 'Since everyone's telling me how super fabulous and worthy I am, it'd be a shame to lock me up in a van, wouldn't it?'

Hex scowled. 'No. Too late. You already agreed. Too bad, so sad.'

Amber gave a half hearted whine, and then shrugged. 'You're the boss.'

'Too right I am,' Hex agreed, then added hastily as Amber opened her mouth to make some smart ass comment, 'So we all know what we're doing? Abigail's going to come and hunt us down if we don't get back soon.' He dropped the papers he'd been clutching back on the table. 'Let's go.'


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

_**Alex**_

**

* * *

**

_I'm not helping. _

_Why not?_

_You know exactly why not._

_No, actually. Enlighten me._

_You're my frickin' subconscious. You're meant to know before I do. _

_Take me through the reasons again. _

I groaned and forced myself to stop pacing. It wasn't helping me think any clearer - quite the opposite in fact.

I needed something to do. Work always helped take my mind of things. If I didn't have work... I'd have gone crazy in a heartbeat.

The filing cabinet had been plonked in the corner of the room by my office's former occupant. It was huge and ridiculously heavy so I'd never bothered to move it. Ignoring the top drawer, I pulled out the second one. Just the glimpse of the mountains of papers in there cleared my head. Of non-work related issues any way.

Maggie had handed me the very top bunch of files the day before, just as I was leaving, and with everything that had happened I hadn't had time to even give them a cursory glance. I grabbed them from the drawer and settled myself in my chair, gearing myself up for what was sure to be a very boring couple of hours.

'Alex Craig. My office. Now.' I'd barely started to flick my eyes over the very first page when Abigail's voice crackled over the PA system. I sighed, checked my watch, dropped the files onto my desk and set off to see what my boss wanted now.

Abigail was sitting at her desk when I walked into her office, a scowl on her face. She looked up distractedly and motioned to one of the visitor chairs. For five minutes I sat there, looking around the room while she continued to tap away at the keyboard in front of her, occasionally glaring at the laptop's screen and muttering under her breath. Finally she set the computer aside, removed her glasses and faced me.

'How are you, Alex?'

I jumped, not anticipating the question. Since when did she care? 'Um... Fine, I guess.'

'Good, good,' Abigail answered quickly. 'Still been seeing Karla?'

My defences went up. Abigail asking about my therapist couldn't ever be good news. _Anyone_ asking about my therapist couldn't be good news.

'I haven't recently.' I resisted the sudden urge to add, 'Been too busy filing reports and making phone calls,' and sat there meekly, wondering where this conversation was headed.

'Mhmm...' Abigail perched her glasses on the very end of her nose again, pulled the laptop towards her and clacked away at the keys again.

When the silence began to stretch, I said hesitantly, 'Ah... Can I ask what all the questions are for?'

'All the questions, Alex?' She peered over the top of her glasses at me. 'I've only asked two.'

'I mean, why the questions about my... therapy.'

Abigail gave a sigh and removed her glasses again, studying me with a serious expression on her face. 'Karla has told me that you're not making any progress.'

_Of course I'm not making any bloody progress. What sort of twit thinks that talking about everything is going to make it go away? If anything it makes it come back. _I returned her serious gaze. 'I'm fine.'

'Karla doesn't think so. She has reason to believe that you're not coping as well as you'd like people to think.'

'I said I'm fine.'

'Flashbacks, is it, Alex? Guilt? Nightmares? Insomnia?'

'_I said I'm fine._'

I glared at Abigail. She gave a smug smile and went back to typing, not bothering with the glasses this time.

'What are you trying to say? That I need to see Karla more often?' I said finally.

She didn't answer for a while, just kept typing. The printer on the desk next to her gave a low whir and spat out some pages. Abigail stood, plucked the papers from the printer's tray, stapled them together and, with a deft flick of her wrist, handed them to me. I didn't want to look at them, didn't want to see what she'd written, but I found my eyes travelling to the top of the first page.

'You can't do this.'

Abigail raised her eyebrows. 'Oh I think I can, Officer Craig. You're dismissed.' She moved back around behind her desk, looked at me as if to say _you're still here? _and added, 'Shut the door on your way out.'

I couldn't do anything more. Obviously my opinion didn't count, despite the fact that I was the only one who was going to be affected by the stupid decision.

Hurrying outside, I waited until I reached my office before reading the rest. My heart felt heavy, all my worries came flooding back and it was all I could do to keep the howl of desperation from escaping.

This sucked. On top of everything, I now had to deal with this.

_Maybe this is what you need, Alex._

I growled at my subconscious. _No._

_A break might be good. Get away from all this for a while. _

_No. I've got nothing else. If I don't come in to work every day, if I don't have something dull and monotonous to pass the time, everything just comes flooding back. _

_British Airways has some great deals going at the moment. Cheap tickets. Holiday packages. _

_Shut up! _I slammed the file down on the desk, stared at it for a moment and then picked it up again and hurried from the room. Abigail had left me no choice; if she was going to force me to take leave I was going to have to find something else to occupy my time.

Mara and Neil were in their office. It was obvious who's desk was who's; Mara's had so much junk littered across it you couldn't even see the actual desk while Neil's could have been delivered that morning it looked so new and unused.

'I want to help you,' I blurted out as soon as I crashed into the office.

Mara's head snapped up. 'You what?'

'I want to help. With the intelligence work.'

Beaming, Neil said, 'That's great, Alex. We'd love you to.' That was so typical Neil. He wouldn't even think of asking why I'd had a sudden and rather drastic change of heart. Mara though...

'Why?'

I winced and handed her the letter Abigail had given me. She read it quickly, her eyes narrowing, and then handed it back to me.

'She's forcing him to take leave,' she explained to Neil, her voice incredulous. 'Can you believe that?'

Neil bit his lip and shot me a cautious glance. 'You sure that it's not a good idea to take some time off, Alex? I mean, you'd know better than anyone, but...'

'Really, Neil,' I insisted. 'I'm fine. I just... I just need to keep my mind occupied, or-'

'It all just starts to come back,' Mara finished softly, her face sad. Her change of attitude was so sudden and so drastically different, both Neil and I looked at her in shock.

'Mara? You okay?' Neil asked worriedly. He went to get up but stopped when Mara nodded.

With a tired sigh, Mara gave a quick, tight smile and turned to me. 'I- I know what you mean, Alex. I know what you're going through. Before I came here, I was a cop. Just a PC in a dumpy town, nothing super exciting. We mostly just dealt with domestics and runaway kids. But-' she hesitated and then continued, her voice stronger '-there was this one day when we got a call saying that this young girl was causing a bit of a ruckus, annoying the neighbours I guess. There'd been a string of violent burglaries and everyone was busy working on that... I was sent out to deal with the girl. All I'd been told was she was yelling and trashing stuff. That's all my superior officer had been told as well. Otherwise I doubt they would have sent me... at least not alone.

'I got to this block of flats and was pointed in the direction of the roof. So, being the confident young probationer I was, I barrelled in there, expecting to have the whole thing sorted out in a few minutes. She'd stopped wrecking things and was just sitting up on the roof, all huddled over like she was cold. I asked her what she was doing and if she'd be able to keep the noise down because the neighbours were making complaints. I'll never forget the way she looked at me. It was like I'd just destroyed all the hope she'd ever had and all the hope she'd ever thought she'd have. I, stupidly, still didn't catch on that something about her wasn't quite right until she stood up... By then it was too late and all I could do was watch her shoot herself.' Mara had tears sliding down her cheeks but she didn't seem to notice. 'I learnt later on that she'd been raped two months before and had just found out she was pregnant. I left the force and ended up here a short while later. I couldn't deal with it, didn't want to deal with it. So, instead of trying to come to terms with what happened, I changed, I ran away and I pushed it to the back of my mind. But it's always there. It never goes away.'

'That wasn't your fault, Mara,' I said as Neil got up and went to comfort her. 'You didn't know.'

She nodded and said, her voice muffled slightly because Neil was hugging her, 'I know that. You know that. Everyone knows that. But it doesn't make it go away. Harry's death wasn't your fault either, Alex, but you still blame yourself.'

I stood there, in the doorway, lost for words.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

_**Amber**_

**

* * *

**

I leant against the fridge and eyed the mess on the kitchen bench with frustration. Nothing was making sense. The papers were so jumbled. Jasper must have just collected the odd bit of evidence, or anything he thought was evidence, and chucked it all together. I knew who the main suspects were, but that was about it. Sure, there were some dates and times, places they'd all been seen together, but it was mostly old with no new leads to follow up. Heck, I didn't even know what they were planning.

I bit my lip, pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and hesitated, my thumb hovering over the keypad. Should I? Hex would kill me if he knew I was even thinking of calling Jasper, but what could I do? Jasper had been in such a hurry when he'd stopped me in the park all he'd done was chuck the files at me and blurt, 'They're making a machine. It'll wreck everything. You have to stop them.'

My mind made up, I jabbed in the number Jasper had given me with the files and waited for him to pick up.

'Jasper? It's Amb-' I stopped and started again. 'It's Annie.'

Jasper sounded surprised. 'Oh. Is everything okay?'

'Yeah. Sort of, it's just that I can't make head nor tail of the fi-'

Talking much louder than necessary, Jasper cut me off with a quick, 'Right. Meet me same place as before,' and hung up. I wondered what his problem was and then it clicked; he wasn't going to take any chances by discussing anything sensitive over an unsecured line. Well... That solved my dilemma- there was no way Jasper would ever talk about his concerns unless we were face to face. I had no other options.

I shoved the files into a couple of calico bags and hid them in the closet before grabbing my coat and heading off to the park.

Jasper was sitting in the same seat, his head once again bowed against the rain. Hex's worries came back to me with a flash and I wondered if what I was doing was wise. As though he'd heard my thoughts, Jasper's head snapped up, his eyes locking onto mine. _No turning back now, Amber. _

As I walked closer to him, I couldn't help but notice the almost startling differences between this Jasper and the one I'd met at the pub almost a year before. The Jasper Price huddled on the park bench was thin and gaunt, his eyes haunted, his posture anxious. I reminded myself that he was an escaped prisoner and he was probably just nervous and scared, but somehow I knew that this was what Jasper was like all the time now. Prison had broken him. A twinge of guilt crept up and settled in my mind; I'd helped to put him away.

'Hey.' I stood in front of him, my hands in my coat pockets.

He gave me a quick smile and nodded to the space next to him. I sat on the very edge.

'So,' he said, 'you need a more detailed explanation?'

I nodded. 'The files don't really make any sense. I mean, there are a lot of papers but nothing that would stand up as evidence alone, nothing we could go to my boss with.'

'What?' Jasper gave me a panicked glance. 'You can't go to your boss. They'll-'

'Whoa.' I held up my hands. 'Calm down, Jasper. I'm not going to my boss. She's an evil cow, why would I give her all the files?'

Jasper gave a quick, humourless chuckle. 'Good point. Good point.'

_He's so nervous. God, what's happened to him?_ 'Okay. So you're going to explain the files to me a bit more?' It was like being around a spooked horse, or a horse that was about to spook. No sudden movements, no loud noises, keep yourself calm and they'll feel calmer.

'Yeah.' He swallowed and tugged at his collar. 'There was this guy in- inside that was a bit loopy. He would constantly be on about aliens and faeries and God knows what. Everyone stayed away from him. It was just an unspoken rule I guess.

'They started this work program thing. We were given opportunities to help with maintenance or cooking or whatever. I ended up in the kitchens with Seamus, the loopy guy, and before I knew what was happening he'd got me in a corner and was hissing, "They see. They see it all. They see and they know."

'I was scared shitless and hit out. Don't know how but that one clumsy swipe knocked him out cold. Just so happened my supervisor came round the corner at the exact moment I hit him. Didn't go down too well, especially since I'd been in trouble the week before. Misunderstanding, that was though. I mean, it was all over-'

'Okay, Jasper,' I said gently. 'Can you stay focused, please? I haven't got very long.'

'Sorry. Yeah. I will.' He tugged at his collar again. His edginess was starting to pass onto me and I struggled to stay calm and on track. 'So, a few days later, Seamus came to see me. He said he was sorry I got in trouble and he was sorry he'd freaked me out. Apparently he has these weird turn things. He doesn't know when they're going happen next, can't control them, can't remember what happened afterwards. It's like he becomes a different person. I asked him what he meant about the people who could see everything and he had no idea what I was talking about. Naturally I was curious and started to associate with him as much as I could. The next time he had a turn, I was with him. Luckily for both of us, he didn't get violent, just sat in the corner and shook. He kept whimpering and saying what he'd first said to me in the kitchens. I asked him what he meant and he seemed to understand and respond. He told me about these men, rich businessmen with powerful contacts, that had made some kind of machine. It got a bit jumbled for a minute or so and then he grabbed me and said, "They can see the future," clear as day, before his turn passed and he got all confused about why he was sitting in the corner.'

I stared at Jasper, his words running through my head. 'So, these businessmen that you gave me some information on, they've built a time machine?'

'No. Not a time machine. They can't travel through time, just see through time.'

I looked at him in disbelief. 'Jasper-'

'Please. You have to believe me, Annie. It's the truth. I- I swear on Georgia's grave, I'm not lying to you.'

I winced and looked away. 'I asked for an explanation and you've given me one. I'll believe what you've told me unless it's proven wrong. Is that okay?'

He nodded. 'Thank you, Annie.'

I didn't say anything; just got up and hurried off, making my way back to the flat as fast as I could.

When I got home, I yanked open the closet where I'd hidden the files and pulled them out. For half an hour I poured over their contents yet again, the new information Jasper had just told me running through my mind, trying to make a connection with anything I was reading. Nothing seemed to add up.

'Right,' I decided, packing the files up again. 'I need help.' I picked up the two bags and headed out the door again. 'Having to go into work on my day off. What's the world coming to?'

The bags were heavy and cumbersome, but I lugged them to work on foot, cursing the two flat tires on my car and the idiot who'd left the broken glass lying around for me to run over.

Arriving at work, I slipped in the back entrance and made a beeline for Hex's office, thanking my lucky stars his office partner, an obnoxious twit called Dean, wasn't in.

'What're you doing here?' Hex asked as I crashed through the door.

I scowled and dropped the bags on the floor. 'Nice to know I'm welcome.'

He grinned, opened his mouth to respond and then frowned as he caught the expression on my face. 'What's happened?'

'I went to see Jasper.'

Hex blinked at me. 'You _what_?'

'I went to see Jasper,' I repeated, lowering my voice. 'The files make no sense and I wanted him to clarify what exactly we're looking in to.'

'So you met him, by yourself, without informing anyone of where you were going?'

'Yeah. Hex, I am perfectly capable of looking after myself.'

'And what if he'd hurt you?' Hex shook his head, ignored my protests that we'd been over this and Jasper wasn't out to kill me and added, 'You just don't think sometimes, Amber.'

I snapped, 'I am capable of looking after myself. I am capable of making my own decisions. I am capable of dealing with own mistakes.'

'And what about everyone else who has to deal with the repercussions of your mistakes? If he'd hurt you...' He ran a hand through his hair, got up and went over to the window. 'I just...'

My anger subsided and I went over and put my arms around him, leaning my forehead against his shoulder. 'I'm sorry,' I whispered.

'Don't apologise, Amber. I- I'm overreacting. Being an idiot.'

'No.' I shook my head adamantly. 'You're not. I don't want to lose you either. I don't want to lose _anyone_ else.' I fought back the rising well of emotions bubbling up and swallowed hard. 'I'm just so sick of it all. How many people have we seen die?'

'How many people have we killed?'

I hugged him tighter. 'We've saved people too. Lots of people. But somehow, no matter what the actual numbers are, the deaths always seem double the amount. If you get flashbacks, memories, they're always about the death and destruction and never about the survivors. It's like your mind _wants_ you to go insane, wants you to have nightmares and feel guilty.'

Hex gently patted my head. 'I know,' he said softly.

'Hey, Hex, I was wondering-' Dean flew into the room, came to a screaming halt and added, 'Woops. Sorry. Thought you were having a day off, Amber.'

'I was. I am.' I let go of Hex and shook my head, sorting through my thoughts. 'I'm here to drop off a few things, that's all.'

Dean nodded. 'Cool.' He looked past me and said to Hex, 'Can you give me a hand with moving some boxes?'

'Sorry, Dean. Amber and I have to go and sort something out. If you can wait I'll help later.'

'S'okay,' Dean said with a shrug. 'I'll go find Thomas and Pete.' He left as quickly as he'd arrived, bellowing out to his would-be helpers.

I turned to Hex who was picking up the bags I'd dumped on the floor. 'What're we sorting out? Where are we going?'

'I thought you said you had some information.'

'I do.'

Hex looked at me as if to say _oh dear, blonde moment_ and gestured to the door. 'Well... Shouldn't we go and find the others so you can tell them?'

'Of course. I was just waiting for you to move.' I swept past him and out into the corridor. 'You can carry those can't you?'


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

_**Li**_

**

* * *

**

Hex had somehow managed to secure a meeting room for us.

'How did you manage to convince Abigail to let us use this?' Paulo asked, waving his hand at the surrounding area.

Smiling, Hex said, 'I didn't.' He dumped another load of files onto the long table in the centre of the room and added, giving Paul a meaningful look. 'But she won't know, will she?'

Paulo grinned back.

It was amazing, the transformation in all of us. Now we had something to do, a goal to work forward to, we were all smiles and happy faces again. Except for Alex. My smile disappeared.

The door swung open and Amber, Mara and Neil bustled in, closely followed by a more hesitant Alex.

'Alex!' Hex exclaimed. 'What're you doing- I mean-'

'Shut up, Hex,' Amber said lightly.

Sitting in the chair next to Paulo, Alex shed a little light on why he was with us. 'Abigail's forcing me to take leave so I'm helping with intelligence.' He mumbled something under his breath that sounded like, 'Anything to keep me busy.'

Neil, who'd just sat down, nodded in confirmation. Mara remained silent, highly unusual for her, and I found myself frowning in concern.

'Hey. What's up?' I said softly as she sat next to me.

She gave a tiny shake of her head and forced her lips into a smile. 'Doesn't matter.'

Amber was standing at the head of the table, tapping a folder impatiently, so I let it drop for the time being, resolving to find out what was troubling Mara later on.

'Right.' Amber stepped to the side so we had a clear view of the whiteboard behind her. 'I went and had a quick word with Jasper before I came here.' Out of the corner of my eye I saw Hex wince. 'He told me that he got his initial suspicions from a man by the name of Seamus; he's a prisoner as well, but I don't know why he was he sentenced. Intelligence-' she looked to Alex, Mara and Neil '-I'd appreciate any info on him you can dig up. Now, Jasper has reason to believe that the men we are targeting have-' Amber stopped and let out a brief puff of air. 'Jasper told me that the men we are targeting have created a machine that can see into the future.' Amber turned to Hex as we all gaped at her. 'Is that possible?'

Hex looked thoughtful before walking over to the whiteboard, marker in hand. He started to draw on the board and then stopped, recapped the marker and faced us. 'I'm explaining this once, so listen very carefully. Don't interrupt me. Any questions, wait for the very end.'

Gosh. It was like being back at school.

Hex scrawled on the whiteboard, talking as he went. 'The universe is curved, okay? A curve that goes on forever.' He stepped back, as Amber had done, and printed on the board were a few diagrams and a couple of names. 'To head off track for a moment, six years ago a man by the name of Gerard Helton was working on designing a lens. I found out about this from someone- you don't need to know who- and did a bit of investigating myself. Helton's plan was to create a lens that was so powerful it would be able to see around the curvature of the universe. So-' Hex drew a circle on the board and jabbed his finger at it '-Helton's theory was that if you were able to see around a curve that went on forever, you would end up back where you started. Almost.' Hex traced the circle with his finger. 'The only difference would be that instead of looking at yourself now, you'd be seeing yourself in the future.'

There was silence while Hex sighed, noticed the thick black marker staining his finger and then tried to wipe it off.

'So,' Amber said eventually, 'what you're saying is that this Seamus guy- and Jasper for that matter- could be right. It's possible to create a machine that could see the future.'

Hex made a so-so gesture with his hand. 'In theory. But, keep in mind that this was six years ago. I never managed to find much on Helton or the lens, so I can't be certain it worked or what he did with it if it did. Any more questions? No? Good. Alex,' he added, 'can you make it a priority to find as much information on Helton as you can? Run him through every check possible after we're finished in here.'

Alex nodded, then paused before saying, 'I'm not actually meant to be here, so I just have to be a bit careful. I'll do what I can, though.'

'Thanks.' Hex addressed Mara and Neil. 'You two. You've still got the list of names I gave you?'

Neil fished about in his pocket and pulled out the folded piece of paper. 'We'll run the names as soon as we're done here.'

'Great.' Finished with his explanations, Hex stepped aside, letting Amber take the floor again.

She seemed a bit bewildered, but carried on regardless. 'As you can see-' she poked the whiteboard '-we have a list of targets we need to be focusing on, but that's about it. We need more information, but Mara and Neil are dealing with that, right?' She waited for them to nod before continuing: 'The names Jasper provided us with are Lucas Hart, Christopher Adlam, Parker Hurst, Riley West and Alistair Payton. He's also written down Imogen Weller, Naomi Fryer and a huge question mark.'

'Question mark?' I echoed.

Amber slid the paper towards me. 'No idea what that means. Maybe there's someone else involved, but he doesn't know a name.'

I studied the sheet. There were two columns, the first lot of names Amber had mentioned jotted down in one and the second lot in the other. 'Do you think he might have separated the names for a reason?'

'Can I see?' Paulo stretched his hand out and I passed him the paper. 'What if he's separated them because the two women he's mentioned- Weller and Fryer- aren't involved?'

'So why bother writing them down?' It was great to hear Alex's voice again. He sounded curious, not resentful or hurt.

It was Hex's turn to scrutinise the paper. He went around and peered over Paulo's shoulder. 'I think what Paulo means is that they might be involved with the men mentioned as opposed to the actual machine.'

'That's a possibility,' Amber said. 'We'll probably know more once Mara and Neil have done a bit of digging. Moving on. Hex, sit down.' She moved across and pointed at a different area of whiteboard. 'Jasper also included a little note with the files. Apparently three of the targets- Hart, West and Payton- are checking into the same hotel later today. Coincidence?'

I gave a groan. 'Surveillance,' I guessed.

'Got it in one, Li.' A map was pulled from a box on the floor and pinned up on the board. Amber tacked several brightly coloured dots to it. 'We'll have two vans. One here-' she pointed to a blue dot and then moved to a pink dot '-and one here. The hotel is the orange dot. Mara, Neil, Alex. If any of you want to help with this, you're more than welcome to.'

The three of them quickly shook their heads and Paulo gave them a thumbs up. 'Wise move,' he said.

Amber shot him a poisonous glare. 'Li and I will be in one van and Hex and Paulo, you'll be in the second. If you can, Hex, it'd be a good idea to see if you're able to hack into the security tapes for inside the hotel. Li and I will be just watching who comes in and out.'

Hex scoffed and looked offended. 'If I'm able to? I could do that with my eyes closed.'

My hopes had fallen at Amber's last sentence. 'Well that sucks. Can this get any worse?'

Amber smirked and I realised that yes, it could get worse. 'We'll find something to do, Li. We can... chat.'

I groaned again. 'Can I swap with Paulo please?'

Hex quickly said, 'Nope. Paulo's with me.' I glared at him and he shrugged, his face contorted as he tried to hold back a laugh. He mouthed what I thought was _Sweet revenge_ at me. I ignored him.

'Is there anything else you need to tell us, Amber?' Neil asked.

Amber consulted her notes and the board. 'I don't think so... Actually, can you get a picture of each of the targets please? We'll need them for the surveillance tonight so can you bring them to me as soon as you have them?'

'Sure.' Neil nudged Mara, who seemed to be off in her own little world, and they left with Alex.

I looked back at the whiteboard but Amber was in the way. She gave another grin. Surveillance, already boring and tedious, suddenly seemed a lot more painful than normal. Trapped in a van with Amber for God knows how many hours, with no chance of escape... I winced. This wasn't going to be fun. Awkward, yes. Thrills a minute, not a chance.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

_**Hex**_

**

* * *

**

Paulo gave a half whine from the front of the van, followed by something Spanish.

'What was that?' I didn't turn away from the screen I was looking at, but felt him shift and swivel around to face me.

'I wish it was a bit warmer.'

'The heater can't be set any higher,' I responded.

There was a short pause before, 'This is quite dull.'

'Just think, it might be dull in here, but at least it's warm. Well, warmer than outside.' Paulo never whinged. Why was he complaining now? I stopped fiddling with the computer and turned to look at him. 'Something on your mind?'

Paulo bit his lip, indecision written all over his face. 'Not particularly,' he said slowly. I shrugged and returned to the screen; something obviously was, but he'd tell me when he was ready. No point in rushing him. My lips quirked into a half smile; gee, Amber was a bad influence on me.

For a good ten minutes there was silence, broken only by the occasional curse from me or a weary sigh from Paulo. The technology wasn't behaving itself; whenever I managed to tap into the feed, the picture would flicker and die. Muttering under my breath, I tried again and, finally, got a relatively clear, non-jumpy picture.

'Liftoff,' I announced, shifting back so Paulo could see the screen. He nodded wordlessly. 'Let's hope it continues to co-operate.' I shot a warning glance at the screen and, as if it wanted to piss me off, the image gave a shudder. 'Don't you _dare_.'

A harsh buzz saved the computer from any more verbal abuse from me. Paulo fished his mobile out of his pocket, answered it, mumbled a few sentences and then hung up.

'They're in position,' he told me. 'Haven't seen any of the targets yet, but it's only early.'

I nodded. 'I didn't think they'd arrive until later,' I agreed, 'but it's best that we're here before they are. Gives us a chance to get settled, suss the place out.'

'Amber sounded very happy,' Paulo added a second later.

I stifled a grin. 'Oh yeah. She would be. Li can't escape.'

'Huh?' Paulo looked confused. 'What do you mean? Escape from what?'

'Nothing. I didn't say anything.'

'Hex,' Paulo said sternly. I fought back another grin. 'Whenever anyone says _nothing_, it always means _something_.'

'Not this time.'

'Yes. This time included. _Especially_ this time.'

I fiddled with the screen, adjusting the picture and sound feeds. 'Honestly, Paulo, I have no idea what Amber's planning.' Well, I had an inkling. More than an inkling, actually, but as Amber hadn't _said_ anything to me, I figured that technically I wasn't lying.

'You sure?' Paulo sounded wary.

'Yep. Sure as sure can be.' I decided it was time for a subject change and added, 'Can you pass me the folder?'

'Where is it?'

'Passenger side, on the floor.'

Paulo _tsked_ as he handed it to me. 'It's got footprints on it. How irresponsible of you. Don't you care that hours of hard work and effort went into the production of that file?'

'Not really.' I took it and shook out the pages, spreading them across the van's floor. Paulo _tsked _again then climbed over the seat to join me.

'So,' he said, 'we're looking for these three? Lucas Hart, Riley West and Alistair Payton?' As he said each name he jabbed at the pictures that Mara and Neil had got for us. Hart was a "regular Joe" sort of guy with shortish brown hair, brown eyes and a plain face. West looked a lot younger- I checked the sheet of written information attached to his photo and realised he was six years my junior. _He's barely out of school_, I thought. _What's he doing caught up in all this?_ Not that we knew what "this" was. The final photo showed a slightly built, black haired guy in his late twenties: Alistair Payton.

'Ah, Hex...' Paulo's voice dragged me back to the present. He was pointing at the computer screen. 'Unless it's started snowing inside the hotel lobby, I think you lost the feed again.'

I growled and Paulo scuttled out of my way. Muttering to myself, I got the feed back. The picture was clear, the sound coming through audibly, and I allowed myself a triumphant smile. 'Third time's the charm.'

'Isn't that more like the eighth-'

'Like I said,' I cut in, 'third time's the charm.'

He rolled his eyes and picked up the printed information on Hart. Although his eyes flicked across the text, I knew his mind wasn't on what he was reading. I opened my mouth, about to ask, and then closed it, picking up Payton's information sheet again. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Paulo continue to fidget until-

'How did you tell her?'

I blinked. 'What?'

'How did you tell Amber?'

'Tell her what?' Dang. I knew this was going to come up soon.

'You know.' He made a hand gesture that seemed pointless and added, 'How you feel about her.'

I couldn't help myself; I laughed and Paulo frowned.

'What?' he said.

'Sorry, mate, but I don't think my way is going to work for you.' He looked so confused I elaborated a bit. 'I sent her an email.'

Paulo looked blankly at me for a split second before bursting out laughing. 'Seriously?' he gasped.

I nodded solemnly before chuckling again.

'I would never have thought anyone would be able to pull that off.' Paulo wiped his eyes before laughing again.

Smiling, I said, 'It worked, didn't it?'

'Maybe I should try it then.'

'You really want to tell Li how you feel in an email? I mean, I actually think Amber sort of expected that from me because-' I stopped when he frowned. 'What's that face for?'

'What makes you assume I'm talking about Li?'

'Oh come on, Paulo.' I rolled my eyes. 'Do I need to say how I know? Is it necessary for me to point out the already blindingly obvious evidence?'

He shook his head. 'No. Please don't.' He winced. 'Not too subtle then, am I?'

'It's not just you,' I assured him. 'Li's just as pathetic.'

'Pathetic?' Paulo scoffed. 'I wish I could have videoed you and Amber a few years ago- actually, I'm sure there must be some footage around somewhere... Now _that_ was pathetic.'

Mildly offended, I protested, 'Hang on. We weren't pathetic.' I stopped, considered his point, brought up several relevant memories in my mind and gave a sheepish grin. 'We were a bit, weren't we?'

'Oh yes.' Paulo nodded. '_Very_.'

'But we're slightly less pathetic than you and Li.'

He gave another frown. 'How?'

'Amber and I hated each other to start with, while all you and Li did was flirt non-stop. And we've been together for ten months now, so technically it took us less time to... confess?' I added a triumphant and fairly childish, 'So there,' and sat back, proud at my defence.

Paulo rolled his eyes and returned to Hart's file. 'Whatever. I still maintain that you two were pathetic.'

'So...' I also picked up one of the information sheets, but, unlike Paulo, I didn't start reading. 'Are you? Going to say anything, I mean.'

'No. Maybe. I don't know.' He gave a frustrated sigh. 'It's just...'

'Yeah. I know,' I said, saving him from having to finish. 'But, just a word of advice, I think Amber's planning something.'

That got his attention. 'Uh oh. I _really_ don't like the sound of that. Planning what? What's she planning? Hex?'

'Calm,' I ordered. 'Don't worry, she's not _that_ mean. She won't set the two of you up, put words in your mouth, whatever. I think she's simply trying to talk some sense into Li. Oh. And get a bit of revenge.'

Paulo opened his mouth and then shut it again.

'What?' I demanded. 'What did you do?'

'Nothing.'

I glared and he relented.

'We may have talked about you and Amber behind your backs, that's all. And Li did mention she was annoying Amber once or twice.'

I shook my head. 'Lovely friends you guys are.'

'Lovely? Look at yourself. You and Amber are just as bad.'

Paulo's mobile buzzed again, halting our conversation. As he answered it, I returned to the screen, pleased to see the image was still clear.

'West and Payton just arrived. You should see them on the screen in three, two, one-'

'Bingo,' I said as two figures moved into the lobby.

'We've got them,' Paulo said into the phone. 'Yeah... They're in the lobby...'

'Talking to some guy by the reception desk.'

'Talking to some guy by the reception desk,' Paulo parroted. He was silent for a moment before covering the mouthpiece and adding, 'Hart just pulled up.'

I nodded. 'And now we sit and wait.'


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

_**Paulo**_

**

* * *

**

I pocketed my mobile and crouched next to Hex, trying to stay focused on the task at hand. There'd be plenty of time to think about what Hex had said later. As for acting on it... I'd have to think about that as well.

'Here comes Hart,' he muttered, nodding at the right side of the screen. Sure enough, Hart trotted through the lobby doors, his head moving from side to side, searching. West and Payton stopped their conversation with the man and joined him. Hex had placed bugs in a few areas of the lobby and we waited with bated breath as the three men moved towards one of the bugged corners. There was a crackle and then voices came through. Hex grinned and I patted him on the back.

'Alistair. Riley,' Hart said warmly. 'How're you?'

'Good, thanks,' West and Payton answered in unison.

Beside me, Hex fidgeted and rolled his eyes. 'Enough with the chit-chat,' he muttered. 'Give us something we can use.' I smirked- only Hex could classify asking someone how they were as chit-chat.

West and Payton didn't hear his pathetic plea. They continued to make casual small talk for a record seventeen minutes. Everything from the weather, to the traffic, to a new flavour of coffee was discussed in great length and detail. I almost fell asleep. Hex's top-of-the-range technology allowed us to experience every dull sentence as though we were standing right beside the three targets. I, for one, was glad we weren't; I'd have nodded off long ago.

Finally Hart cleared his throat. 'So, you have the results?'

My ears pricked up and Hex sat up straighter. We both leaned closer to the screen and speakers as though that'd make Hart hurry up.

'Mhmm...' Payton glanced about then nodded in the direction of a small room off to the side of the lobby. Hex and I high-fived; we'd taken a wild guess and heavily bugged and tapped into the security feed for that room, hoping that was where Hart would have his little meeting. Seemed like we were right.

The three of them wandered over to the room and entered, closing the door firmly behind them.

'Not to worry,' Hex said, almost to himself. He clicked about, hit a few buttons and up popped the footage from inside the room. A second later the sound came through loud and clear.

'Ah, Hex...'

He looked at me in disbelief, obviously remembering that the last time I'd said that we'd had a few technological difficulties. 'What?' He peered at the computer. 'What's happened?'

I pointed at the screen, at the three figures wandering about the room. 'They're sweeping for bugs.'

Hex gave a relieved sigh and shrugged, looking quite smug. 'Let them sweep,' he said haughtily. 'They won't find anything. The bugs I use are-'

'Top of the range, straight off the market, so new even the CIA doesn't have them yet.'

He grinned. 'Exactly.'

I shook my head and turned my attention back to the meeting. Once again, Hex was right; neither Hart, West nor Payton had found any of the bugs and had settled in comfortably, sitting around the small table in the middle of the room.

'So,' Hart pressed, 'the results? You have them?'

Payton nodded. 'I do.' He slid a single sheet of paper across the table to Hart who picked it up, read it and slid it over to West. Not a word was said until the paper was returned to Payton and tucked into his bag.

'Very good, Alistair.' Even through the feed, Hart's voice dripped with approval. 'That's excellent news. Now, to move on, I think-'

'Hang on.' West, who hadn't said much up until that point, frowned and stood up. I started to feel a little edgy as he stalked around the room; had something made him suspicious? West eventually stopped near the front left corner, near the door and, unfortunately for us, out of the camera's range. For a few painfully slow seconds, there was no movement in the room and then West reappeared, heading back to his seat. At first we didn't notice anything different, but when the silence continued to stretch, I realised.

'He's messed with the bugs,' Hex said in disbelief. He looked so betrayed, like he couldn't quite believe his beloved technology had let him down. 'I've got no sound feed.'

'But we've still got the visual.' No sooner had I said that, the screen did its blizzard impersonation again. Hex gave a strangled cry and leapt at the various wires coiled beside the computer. I left him to it and headed outside to update Amber and Li.

'How's it going?' Amber answered cheerily. 'Having fun?'

'We were,' I replied, 'but then West messed with the feed and we've got nothing.'

'Nothing?' Amber echoed.

I stamped my feet. God, it was cold. 'No sound, no visual, nothing.'

Hex's scowling face poked out of the van. 'It's stuffed,' he said shortly. 'Might as well head home.'

I relayed this information to Amber who told me to wait with Hex while she and Li came over to inspect the damage. I hung up and, not two minutes after I'd done so, a black van screeched to a halt beside ours.

'Amber,' I said as she jumped out of the driver's seat, 'I can't believe I'm saying this but your driving is almost as bad as Hex's now.'

She frowned at me. 'Shut it. I'm cold, I'm tired, I'm hungry and I'm fed up.'

'Okay, okay,' I protested, holding up my hands in defeat. Her lips quirked into something that could vaguely be described as a smile, so I lowered my hands and gestured to our van. 'Come and see.'

Li and Amber climbed in through the back doors while I opted to slide into the front seat and peer into the back again. Hex was mumbling to himself, jerking at the wires and flicking switches. Nothing was working and he was getting ticked off. After observing the scene, Amber sighed.

'It's not working, Hex,' she told him. 'Just face the fact that your technology can't defeat theirs.'

He shot her a withering look but sat back with a sigh. 'I don't know what's wrong with it,' he admitted. 'Nothing should be able to interfere with the bugs.' He mumbled something about having a word with his supplier, sighed again and shrugged. 'We calling it a night?'

Li yawned and nodded. 'Yep. I don't know about you guys but I'm exhausted.'

'The adrenaline junky's tired?' I teased, earning an eye roll from Li.

With a sly grin, Amber nudged Li's arm. 'Night of firsts, hey? Hex's gadgets failing, you being tired... Could there be any other firsts?' She nudged Li's elbow again.

'Sorry to disappoint, Amber,' Li said quickly, 'but no. There are not going to be any other firsts.'

'You sure? All you have to do is open your mouth and-'

'Well this has been really nice,' Li interrupted, shooting Amber a fierce glare, 'but, like I said, I'm exhausted. Bye guys.' She leapt to her feet and slipped out the back of the van.

I raised an eyebrow. 'Care to explain what that was, Amber?'

She shrugged, studied her fingernails and said, 'Wouldn't you like to know.'

'Right.' Hex stood up, stifling a yawn. 'There's nothing else we can do now. I think it's best if we met up tomorrow, get any other information from Mara, Neil and Alex and-' he narrowed his eyes at the computer beside him '-I'll try and sort out the technology problems.'

'Good plan,' Amber said, patting Hex on the back. 'Not as good as my plans, but still, it was okay.'

Hex rolled his eyes.


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

_**Amber**_

**

* * *

**

I stumbled into the meeting room behind Hex who was looking way too awake considering it was so early in the morning. Alex, Mara and Li were already seated at the table and I collapsed into a chair next to them.

'Someone looks a bit sleepy,' Li remarked cheerfully.

I scowled at her; I had a headache and I'd been up half the night, thoughts and fears refusing to let me rest. As Neil and Paulo wandered in and locked the doors, I forced myself to my feet and stomped to the front of the room. 'Right,' I started, 'for Mara, Neil and Alex's benefits, our surveillance last night sucked.'

'Not completely,' Hex interrupted. He still seemed so upset over the technological difficulties he'd come across and he was desperate to try and salvage the equipment's reputation. 'The feeds worked at the start. We did get some footage- the three of them talking and meeting up.'

Paulo scoffed. 'They were discussing instant coffee, Hex. Unless their master plan involves destroying that industry or using it to poison people, I don't think it is very relevant.'

They glared at each other; the tension in the room was suffocating. Alex's relatively positive mood of the day before seemed to have vanished and he was hunched over in the back corner, a laptop on a table in front of him. Normally so cheerful and bright, Neil's face was closed and worried and he kept shooting anxious glances in Mara's direction. As my gaze fell on Mara, I could understand what had gotten him so concerned; the loud and at times obnoxious front had fallen away, leaving Mara quiet and subdued. Li's earlier chirpiness had also disappeared and she'd sunk down in her chair, her arms folded tightly across her chest.

'Please, guys,' I said, amazed at how desperate I sounded. Everyone looked at me and, to my shock, I felt tears start to well up in my eyes as I glanced at my friends. 'I- I know that we've all had a horrible year and I know that you're as fed up as I am, but we need to stick together. If Jasper's right- which I honestly think he is- then millions of people might be in danger. We're the only ones who know, we're the only ones who can help and if we keep this up-' I flung my hands out, indicating our current attitudes '-then we'll end up failing. Things are difficult at the moment, I know, and we're all wondering if we've made some huge mistakes along the way, we're blaming ourselves, we're nursing secrets, we're wondering what the future holds... But, just until this is sorted out, can we put everything else to the backs of our minds and work together?'

Slowly, my friends nodded. I blinked rapidly, muttered, 'Thanks,' and took a few deep breaths. 'Okay. So, as was mentioned just before, we had a few problems with the feeds. Even though we got nothing concrete, the fact that Hex lost both sound and visual seems to indicate that there's something going on. They're hiding something and we're going to find out what.'

Li raised her hand and, when I nodded at her, said, 'Put us undercover. Me and Paulo. We'll be able to get some information won't we?'

'Yeah.' Paulo leaned forward eagerly, his eyes lighting up. 'What've we got to lose?'

I considered what they were suggesting and, grudgingly, realised that it made perfect sense. Ideally I'd have liked us to gather a whole lot more information on the targets before putting them in, but given the current circumstances and the enthusiasm that both Li and Paulo were showing, it looked to be a good option.

'I suppose so,' I said slowly. They high fived each other and I forced myself to smile, though I felt sick. Maybe it was because the last experience I'd had with being undercover had resulted in way too many deaths and near deaths for my liking and two of my best friends were about to be thrust into a situation that could easily end the same. Maybe I had some sort of sixth sense about what would happen. Maybe I'd had off milk in my coffee. Whatever the reason, my stomach refused to stop churning for the rest of the morning.

'You're in luck,' Neil said, delving into a bag lying on the table and pulling out an assortment of papers. He slid one lot towards Li and the second across to Paulo. Seeing my curious glance, Neil added, 'Identities. Mara and I put them together yesterday, you know, just in case they ended up going in earlier than expected.'

'I'm glad you did,' Li said. She shook her head in amazement. 'These are really well done, guys.'

Neil shrugged modestly. 'Mara did most of them.'

The entire time we'd been in the meeting room Alex had remained silent, his undivided attention focused solely on whatever was on the laptop. Now, though, he cleared his throat and said, 'Well this sucks.'

'What does?' Hex, who'd been doing something or other on his Palmtop, looked at Alex sharply.

'I've been looking for any info on that Helton guy.' He frowned and drummed his fingers on the desk. 'It's surprisingly difficult, but I've finally got something.'

'Oh? And that is?' Paulo asked.

'He's dead,' Alex answered bluntly. 'Died two years ago.'

I sank into a spare chair. 'How?' I winced. 'God, that makes me sound so morbid.'

'Well...' Alex clicked about and then continued: 'I've got two conflicting accounts, one issued later than the other.'

'Give us the early one.' Having put his Palmtop away, Hex sat in the chair next to me.

'Helton, after finding out that his brother was sleeping with his wife, committed suicide. A note was found, explaining everything in a surprisingly clear way, next to his body.' Alex looked up from the screen. 'There's only one problem with this and I think that's why it was both covered up- or an attempt was made to cover it up- and the next account is so different.'

'What's that?'

'Helton was never married and he has no other family. His parents-' he consulted the screen again '-died in a car crash three and half years before he did and the only sibling he had was a twin sister who died shortly after birth.'

'So he couldn't have committed suicide. At least not for the reason the note said,' Paulo murmured.

Neil leaned back in his chair and stifled a yawn. 'Was the note wrong? Did he even commit suicide? And, if he did, why did he write a pile of lies?'

'Exactly what I was wondering, Neil,' Alex said, 'until I stumbled across a police report dated just four months after the initial investigation. Helton was apparently murdered.'

My eyes grew wide. 'Did they find out who did it? Was it connected to that lens thing Hex was talking about yesterday?'

'No and don't know, it doesn't say.' Alex hesitated, as though he was giving his opinion a final, mental check before voicing it. 'It all seems quite... off. I mean, first of all they say it's suicide. Looks like they did almost no investigating before they made their decision as well. Then it becomes clear that Helton couldn't have committed suicide, at least not for the reason in the note, so the story suddenly changes, after all, why would Helton have lied about why he killed himself? Suddenly the police were saying it's murder and yet there's still been no real investigation. The case was closed before it even begun.'

I nodded slowly. 'It's an inside job? Helton was killed by someone either in the police force or someone closely connected?'

'Possibly,' Alex said. 'More than likely. The thing that really bothers me is that there's no reason provided for _why _he was killed. Hart or whoever else is involved with this machine could have been behind it all, but there's nothing to prove it. Or disprove it for that matter.'

'My head hurts,' Paulo groaned.

Feeling my own headache intensify, I said, 'Good job, Alex. Mara, Neil- if you don't mind, could you give Li and Paulo a hand with their identities.' They nodded and the four of them started to pack up.

'I'm going to keep looking for stuff on Helton,' Alex decided. 'I'll stay here because otherwise I'll end facing Abigail's mighty wrath.'

I gave a strained smile and said goodbye, leaving the meeting room with Hex at my heels. We wandered down the hall and climbed the stairs, not expecting to find Abigail lurking at the top.

'Middleton, Smith,' she barked as we tried to scurry past. Reluctantly we stopped and turned around. 'Have either of you spoken to Officer Craig lately?'

_Mhmm... Just a few minutes ago actually. If you want a word, he's just downstairs in the meeting room we're not meant to have access to..._ 'Yes, ma'am,' I said.

'And he's okay?'

I blinked. Abigail? Expressing concern over our welfare? Thinking about it, I realised that Abigail hadn't in fact been replaced by something more human; her words were caring enough, but her tone meant business, flat and emotionless as always.

Before I could answer, Hex said, his voice icy, 'Okay? Okay about what? Being forced to take leave so you don't-'

'I think what Officer Smith means,' I cut in, shooting Hex a warning glare, 'is that while Alex initially found it hard to accept, he's better now. I think he's realised that taking leave is a good option.'

Abigail nodded once, her eyes still narrowed at Hex. 'Quite.'

Once she'd left, I turned to Hex. 'What is your problem?'

'My problem?' he said in disbelief. 'Why do you let her just walk all over you?'

'I don't.'

'You were just agreeing with what she said. You didn't defend Alex at all.'

I folded my arms. 'She's our boss, Hex. She has the right- in fact it's her _job_ to make decisions about us, without regarding us.'

He muttered something under his breath.

'What was that?'

'Harry never did.'

I felt a stab of sadness, but brushed it away. 'Harry was the exception, not the rule.'

'She could try to act a little more human.'

I scoffed. 'If this is all about her showing emotions and caring, then you have absolutely no right to criticise.'

'What's that supposed to mean?' he snapped. I didn't respond and he scowled. 'You're impossible sometimes.'

'Me? Impossible? What about _you_?'

We glared at each other until Hex said, 'You know what? You talk about me not showing how much I care and yet you don't give a stuff, do you? Abigail just stormed in here and you accepted it, while the rest of us at least-'

I lost it. I was tired, fed up, emotional and stressed. 'Harry's dead, Hex,' I snapped. 'He's gone, okay? He's gone and he's never coming back. Abigail is our boss now and what she says goes. It doesn't matter what any of us say or do because she's in control. The sooner you accept that the easier it'll be for everyone.'

Tears started to slide down my cheeks and I brushed past Hex angrily. He tried to grab my arm but I pushed him away. Halfway down the hall I heard him call, 'Amber! Wait. I'm sorry... I didn't mean it.'

I stopped and turned around. 'Just because I've accepted what's changed, Hex, doesn't mean I don't care. Harry's death will never stop hurting, but dwelling on it just keeps the wound open. You can move on, you know, and it doesn't mean you've forgotten him or gotten over what happened. I still care.' Tears still trickling down my cheeks, I walked away.


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

**

* * *

**

Hart twitched. 'It was ready, boss, I swear it was. Alistair did the test run, everything went smoothly... He showed me the results.'

'Well, Lucas,' his boss rasped, 'it's not working now, is it? And, unlike yourself, I've actually been down there and seen it, not just taken the word of Payton. Do try to remember that he's a con artist.'

'Why would he fake the results? He's got as much riding on this as I do.' Hart instantly regretted his harsh tone; disrespect didn't sit too well with his boss. 'I'm sorry, sir, I'm just a bit stressed at the moment.'

'You're not the only one, Hart,' his boss snapped. 'This is a massive project and I don't want to see it flop. I've invested everything into this machine. I've risked _everything_.'

_All your eggs in one basket_, Hart thought. 'I know, sir, and I'm sorry for letting you down. I'm going to go and have a look myself early tomorrow. I'll talk to Alvero and ask what's going on. I'll sort it all out.'

'Good,' his boss said. 'Once again, Lucas, I must remind you of the consequences of failure. I will not tolerate it.'

There was a click and Hart let out a shaky breath, placing his mobile down carefully on the bench. He looked around his kitchen and finally at the clock on the wall. It was late, much later than he'd anticipated, but he was too wound up to even consider turning in. Grabbing his coat, Hart left the house.

The pub was still open, though only a few stragglers remained inside and only a handful were conscious. Hart took a seat at the bar, not intending to stay long or even drink. He'd just needed to get out of the house and clear his head.

'Hi.' A pretty redhead had appeared beside him. She hopped up onto the stool to his left, an empty glass in her hand.

'Hi.'

The young woman ran a manicured nail around the rim of her glass, the rather vacant smile of someone who's had probably one too many drinks on her face. 'What're you doing here? So late I mean. You just came in, right?'

Hart nodded. 'My boss... He's giving me a hard time. I just needed to get out of the house for a little while.'

'I know what you mean. I broke it off with my boyfriend a couple of days ago and I just got fired.' She raised the glass and gave a lopsided smile. 'Drowning my sorrows, yada yada.'

Hart returned the smile and held out his hand. 'I'm Lucas.'

The woman put down her glass, took Hart's hand and shook it. 'I'm Laura.'


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

_**Alex**_

**

* * *

**

Gaining any additional information on Helton was proving much more difficult than I'd anticipated. Angrily, I tapped the keyboard a bit harder than I intended and the laptop gave a brief squeal of protest. Sighing, I rubbed my forehead. All I wanted was one, tiny piece of information that would help to unravel the mystery surrounding Helton's death. I just wanted the one fact that could result in everything making sense.

Twenty minutes later, I still had nothing.

I stood up, frustrated and going cross eyed from staring at the screen for so long. A coffee break seemed like a great idea, so I shut the laptop- admittedly with a tad more force than was probably necessary- and left the meeting room. I knew that venturing out into the halls wasn't the best idea and that the chance of Abigail finding out I was still skulking about was high, but I really needed a break, a chance to get away from the computer and an opportunity to clear my head.

There was a working coffee machine on the second floor. Hunching over, I silently begged the machine to hurry up; the cup was taking _forever_ to fill. When the water reached half of the way up the Styrofoam, someone tapped my shoulder. I jumped and grabbed at the cup as it wobbled wildly and threatened to tip over.

'Alex?'

Steadying the cup, I turned around to find one of the newest and youngest officers, Ava Phillips, staring at me, a thoughtful frown on her face. 'Ava,' I gasped. 'You gave me a heart attack.'

She gave a lopsided grin. 'Could that be because you're not meant to be here and you thought I was going to tell you off?'

'What-' I shook my head. 'How did you find out about that?'

'You having to take leave?' When I nodded she continued: 'It's all over Headquarters,' she said. '_She_ told everyone, like you were some sort of failed experiment.'

I gathered that the "she" referred to Abigail and I was happy to hear the complete loathing in Ava's voice; she was one of the only new officers to have a real resentment for our boss, even though Abigail was the only one they'd ever had.

'Really?' I knew I sounded shocked, but truthfully I wasn't surprised- it was just what I'd expected from Abigail.

Ava's grin vanished. 'Yeah... Alex... Can I ask you something?'

'Course.'

'It's just...' Ava dropped her gaze and scuffed her foot against the carpet. 'What did you, Li, Paulo, Amber and Hex do?'

Shrugging, because I honestly had no clue what we'd done to piss Abigail off, I said, 'She's had it in for us the moment she walked through the doors. I mean, yeah, Hex doesn't help the situation- he's been starting arguments with her since she started- but...'

'But what?'

I shrugged again. 'I really haven't got a clue, Ava. She doesn't seem to like a lot of us.'

'Ha!' Ava gave a short bark of laughter. 'All the other junior officers suck up to her _big_ time- you know that I've actually seen her _smile_ at some of them.'

'Wow,' I gasped, playing along. 'I had no idea she could do that!'

Ava giggled and then, quite suddenly, stopped, sounding a bit strangled. Noticing the guilty and nervous expression on her face and the fact that her gaze was now directed over my shoulder, I slowly turned around.

'Officer Craig,' barked Abigail, her eyes blazing, 'it may be a wise idea to turn off the coffee machine before an even bigger stain forms on the carpet.' As I hurriedly switched the machine off she added, 'Phillips- dismissed.'

Throwing me an apologetic glance, Ava scuttled off- despite her brave words, it was clear that she was just as terrified of Abigail as the other new officers. No such easy escape for me, though.

Positively bristling with rage, Abigail hissed, 'And _what_ are you doing here, Craig?'

'Ah...' I struggled to come up with a plausible excuse and failed. _I'm just here to pick up some stuff? I had to drop someone off and thought I'd grab a cup of coffee?_

'Let me help you explain,' she said, her voice low and angry. I gulped. 'I gave you your letter of dismissal and you deliberately ignored it, deciding to try and prove a point, try to undermine my authority. In case it has failed to get through your head, Craig, I am in charge and have been for the past ten months. I do _not_ appreciate these blatant displays of disrespect and immaturity that you and your pathetic group of friends keep showing. I do _not_ appreciate the fact that the seven of you are further questioning my authority by encouraging the new officers to rebel. I am running a far more efficient and productive unit than my predecessor ever could have hoped to. I have gotten more results than he could have hoped to. I am more suited and far more capable of running MI5 than he ever was. _Accept it_.'

I was breathing hard, not from exertion but from pure rage. 'Well then, if we're making comparisons... Harry was more human than you could ever hope to be. He actually cared about us. He didn't use bullying tactics to get the results you seem to favour so highly. He never dismissed anyone. He helped us. He-'

'Frankly, _Craig_,' she sneered, 'I don't give a damn. Mr Field was incompetent and had no idea how to manage such an important department as MI5.' She smirked. 'In a way it's a blessing he died.'

Someone had wrapped an iron band around my chest- I gasped for breath. 'Harry was _murdered_. He didn't just die- Price killed him.'

'Does it really matter?' Abigail shrugged dismissively. 'As I said, Craig, I don't give a damn.' In the blink of an eye she'd surged forwards and was glowering at me from less than a foot away. 'Once again, you're dismissed, Officer Craig. I'll get back to you on the permanency of this decision.'

Abigail spun on her heel and stalked away, leaving me standing beside the coffee machine, shocked, angry and upset. Boss or not, had she been allowed to say all of that about Harry? My mind whirred, jumped to conclusions and suddenly Abigail was connected with Price, organising Harry's murder in a dark alley someplace. She cackled and gloated over the job she was sure to secure once Harry had been put out of the way. My hands clenched tightly by my sides, I, too, spun around and hurried down the hall.

**

* * *

**

Without Hex's connections and astounding knowledge of all things technological, I was at a bit of a loss as to how I could proceed with my research- I now had someone other than Helton to dig up some dirt on as well. Despite the almost absurdity of my sudden thought that maybe Abigail had been in some way involved with Harry's death, I really wanted to follow it up. I resolved to not discuss it with my friends, though- at least not for the time being. While I knew that they'd never say it to my face, it was all too clear that my paranoia and anxiety was starting to affect my friendship with them all.

The doorbell rang and I jumped, wondering who was calling around. I opened the door and saw the one person I hadn't expected to.

'Laura,' I blurted. 'What're you- I- Come in.' I stood back and she brushed past me. My hopes sank as I caught her frosty expression. Damn.

'I just came around to pick up some of my things,' she said once we were in the lounge room. 'I didn't expect you'd be home.'

'How did you plan on getting in then?' When she'd walked out she'd left her key on the doormat.

Her expression was still cold and withdrawn. 'You've moved the spare key. I would have used that.'

'Guess it's a good thing I'm here then, huh?'

Laura frowned, obviously disagreeing. Despite her distant manner, the more I looked at her- at her eyes especially- I could see just how hurt she still was. We stood in a silence so uncomfortable it almost ached, until Laura cleared her throat and said, 'I'll go and fetch my things.'

She vanished down the hall and I retreated to the kitchen. Half a cup of tea later, Laura reappeared, standing in the kitchen entrance clutching a medium sized box, two bags over her shoulders.

'Got everything, then?' I asked, still peering into my mug.

'Mostly. Everything I could find.'

'If I come across anything else, I'll let you know.'

She gave a small cough. 'Sure. I'd appreciate that.'

As our conversation once again screeched to an awkward halt, I realised something- Abigail had stuffed my life up enough and if I didn't say something soon, I was going to lose Laura for good. I had once last chance. At that moment, nothing else mattered- not my job, not my boss, nothing- but Laura knowing the truth. _All or nothing, Alex_.

'Look, Laura-'

'Don't,' she cut me off, almost begging. 'Please, don't give me any more lame excuses, Alex. I'm sick of it.' She smiled sadly and added, 'You're keeping something from me, I know you are. You've been keeping something from me ever since we met.'

_All or nothing. Go, Alex. Come on. Tell her. There's still a chance. Now!_ 'I know and you have absolutely no idea how hard it's been.'

'Hard?' she echoed in disbelief. 'I'm the one who's had to deal with knowing that the person I'm in love with can't even trust me. Our entire relationship's been one huge lie, Alex.'

'No!'

'Well,' she said softly, 'it was resting on one at least.' Once again, her voice dropped to a whisper. 'I'm not even sure if I know who you really are.'

I pushed my tea away- it was cold now anyway. 'I'm trying to tell you, Laura, if you'd just listen-'

'No.' She shook her head adamantly. 'It's too late for explanations and excuses. I don't care anymore, okay? We're finished, we're not getting back together.' Her voice broke at the end and she furiously wiped at her eyes. 'I'm leaving.'

She stormed for the hallway and the front door. Without a second's thought I followed her, some crazy part of me hoping she'd let me explain myself. As she went through the door, Laura half turned and her lips twisted into a tiny smile. 'You know,' she whispered, 'I always thought you might have been a spy- MI6. I thought it'd be a fair explanation for all the secrecy.'

With that, she closed the door, leaving me standing there, staring at the wood. 'MI5,' I mumbled. 'Not MI6.'


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

_**Li**_

**

* * *

**

A few days after Alex's run-in with Abigail I was sitting in the meeting room with Paulo, Hex and Amber in front of us. Amber was looking even more stressed than usual, her hair an uncontrolled frizzy mass perching on her head, ink stains on her face, a pen tucked behind her ear. In comparison, Hex was lounging in a chair, the epitome of calm, though he occasionally threw an anxious glance in Amber's direction. The two of them had been more or less ignoring each other for the entire morning- for the past couple of days actually- an incredibly rare event these days, and the absence of their constant chatter- arguments and minor disagreements - was really noticeable. His eyes closed, Paulo had taken up a similar position to Hex's though far more horizontal. I twitched and fidgeted, not sure if I was nervous, excited, bored or a combination of all three.

'Are you both feeling confident about this?' Amber asked. Her eyes flicked between Paulo and me. 'We can always postpone it if you're not. There's absolutely no pressure whatsoever and I'm sure we can get the results another way or...' Catching the looks Paulo and I were shooting in her direction she trailed off and sighed. 'Fine. Run through them again.'

Paulo cleared his throat. 'My name's Enrico Martinez. I was born in Buenos Aires but have recently moved to London to pursue a career in business and marketing. The unfortunate and sudden death of my grandparents has resulted in me inheriting a whopping big lump of cash.' He gave a sudden grin. 'The fact that this huge sum of money bypassed my grandparents' only son, my dad, and fell to me isn't suspicious at all and only adds to my mystery and intrigue. I'm looking for a quick, easy and profitable company or organisation to put my support behind and funds into.' Peering at the page lying on the table, he added, 'Do you want me to go on?'

'No,' Amber said. 'That's great. As long as you've got the very basics exact and you're vaguely familiar with the rest of it, you'll be fine... Li. Take the floor.'

I tried not to scowl and sigh. 'Elise Chang. I'm from a wealthy family as well, although it's my parents with the money. They run a successful business in China and live there, although I grew up mostly in Britain, attending a prestigious boarding school since age six. I've travelled a lot and I'm now spending a final few weeks- or months, depending on how long this takes- here, in London, before heading back to China.'

'And what will you be doing once back in China?'

I stifled a groan; we'd been going over this for hours and it was starting to get dull. 'Learning the finer points and inner workings of my family's business so that one day I will be able to take over.'

Amber nodded, apparently satisfied. 'Very good, both of you, especially since you've only had a few days. Just make sure you make your stories and backgrounds sound...'

'Natural?' Hex guessed, his voice deadpan, face blank.

'Yeah, natural. So it doesn't sound like you've read it off a piece of paper-'

'Which we have.' Paulo grinned.

'-and you're simply explaining your lives, answering questions, whatever. Okay?' We nodded as Amber wrung her hands. She was really fretting over the whole undercover situation, even though she was going to be in a van the entire time. It was hard being around her so much when she was like this because it was almost impossible to stay calm and focused when she kept fussing. All I wanted was a chance to get out and do _something_. I was sick to death of sitting in a van or behind a desk. Everyone- meaning Alex and Amber- was being so cautious; too cautious in my opinion. I'd had a whinge to Paulo the day before and he'd made sympathetic sounds before reminding me that both of them were having a few... issues... at the moment. As horrible and selfish as it sounds, I honestly didn't care anymore. Well, no, I did care, but I just was sick of them pushing their worries and concerns onto the rest of us when clearly we were all fine with the situation.

'Look at this,' gasped Neil. He'd suddenly flung himself into the room and slammed the door shut, thrusting out a newspaper at Amber. She hurried across and took it from him, scanning the front page quickly; her eyes widened.

'What?' Hex asked immediately, leaping up. Wordlessly, Amber handed him the paper. After reading it, Hex handed it to me with a quizzical, 'Don't see the big issue...'

Almost the whole of the front page was taken up by a horribly grainy photograph. The quality was so bad that I couldn't even tell what I was looking at. The caption below read _'A possible sighting of escaped prisoner Jasper Price?'_ The article started out with juicy bits of background information on Price and why he'd been convicted and sent to jail. These few paragraphs were followed by a "witness report" provided by the owner of the crappy photo. Apparently Arthur Timms had been walking his dog when he'd caught sight of someone who "looked exactly like that convict guy" and pulled out his phone to snap a few shots, giving the best one to the hungry journalists.

'That was the best one?' I asked, incredulous, handing the paper to Paulo.

Hex, obviously keen to share his knowledge of all things technological, said, 'Phone's don't have the best resolution for taking photos, unless-'

'Let me guess,' Amber interrupted, looking directly at Hex for the first time that morning; had their apparent annoyance at one another just broken? 'Unless they come from one of your contacts.'

He clapped. 'Yay! Go Amber! Fifty points!'

She rolled her eyes and took the paper from Paulo. After quickly reading the article once more she handed it back to Neil. To everyone's surprise he said, 'That was yesterday's,' and produced another newspaper adding, 'Today's.'

The front page picture and article were both more newsworthy and clearer than the previous one. A stern looking police officer advanced towards the camera, trying to block the photographer from taking a picture. He'd failed though as, in the background, you could just see police tape and- my stomach lurched- what looked like a covered over body. Amber's eyes grew so big I thought they'd pop out of her head.

'Oh my God,' she whispered, the only one of us who seemed to be reacting to the article. 'That's him.'

'Huh?' Neil came over and leant against the table next to me. 'Who?'

Amber's head snapped up. 'The victim of this shooting-' she jabbed a finger angrily at the page '-murdered Georgia Price.'

'Price's sister, wasn't she,' Hex said softly.

Nodding fiercely, Amber swallowed hard and pushed the paper away like it was a plate of greasy food and she wasn't feeling too good. 'Yeah. And he killed her. Luis,' Amber spat the name out, the utter loathing she felt for this particular man completely clear, 'wanted Jasper to back off and let him take control of Jasper's patch. Jasper refused so Georgia was dragged into it all. Because of him, Roxy's an orphan- she'll grow up not knowing both of her parents. She'll grow up not knowing anything about her family.'

I was struggling to keep up with Amber's almost hissed sentences. Roxy... Amber had mentioned her a few times... 'Roxy's Georgia's daughter, right?'

Amber nodded and swiped the paper off the bench. Following all of this in complete silence, Paulo suddenly said, 'Is Price behind it? This shooting, I mean.'

No one answered and, if their expressions were anything to go on, like me they hadn't actually considered this point. Hex had paled, possibly thinking that if Price _was_ behind the death of this Luis guy then he was more than capable of attacking other people who'd crossed him. His gaze flicked uncertainly to Amber and my suspicions were more or less confirmed. Paulo looked as though he was watching a tennis match, eyes darting from each of us in turn, while Neil stared at the tabletop. Finally, Amber answered.

'No. He wouldn't.' She sounded so hesitant and uncertain that we all shot her dubious looks.

I decided to bring up the point when everyone else stayed silent. 'Amber...' I ventured. When she looked at me, I continued: 'He's a convicted murderer. Can you honestly say that he would definitely have nothing to do with this?'

'Without asking him, no. But,' she added when we all grimaced, 'he's not the sort of person who just goes around shooting people. Not after what he's been through, not after he's lost so many friends and family members. Harry's death... I- I really think that he's telling the truth: it was an accident.'

'This isn't just some person,' I pointed out. 'This is the guy who not only caused his sister's death but ultimately resulted in Roxy having to be given up. He just about destroyed Price's only family.'

'Why would he risk being found out just to get revenge?'

'I don't know, Amber. It's obvious that Price isn't right in the head. Who knows what's going on in his mind...'

'Okay,' she said finally, 'let's just forget about it. It has nothing to do with us.'

Behind Amber I could see Hex was utilising every single ounce of self control he had so he wouldn't blurt out something. I quickly gathered up the newspapers and handed them back to Neil who, with a brief wave, departed, his face grim. Keen to get the discussion back on track, Hex said, 'Right. Paulo- tonight you'll be checking into The Fallows, a hotel that Hart seems to spend the majority of his time at.' Hex passed some papers to Amber who handed them to Paulo. 'And Li- you'll be trying to befriend Naomi Fryer and Imogen Weller. We need to know how they fit into all of this. Mara was kind enough to tail them for us. Apparently they've gone into the gym for the afternoon so if you want to head over there...'

As Hex handed me some information on my two targets I felt my hopes sink; so much for the action packed and interesting job. Forcing myself to smile, I nodded curtly and stood up, brushing the papers into my bag. I walked out the door, my smile disappearing.

'Li! Wait up a minute.'

I slowed to give Paulo a chance to catch up. When we kept walking in silence, I said, 'Did you want something?'

'Ah...' Half ducking his head, Paulo mumbled something to himself, scowled and then looked at me again. 'No. I just... ah... wanted to say good luck.' He blurted the last five words and then scowled again, almost as though he was angry at himself.

Anti climax, much? 'Oh. Okay... You too.' We stared at each other, a horrible silence developing, before I added, 'I better get going,' and trotted off down the hall, not wanting to have to try and deal with anything other than my new task. There'd be time for sorting out personal lives later, but right now work needed all of my time, energy and concentration. Life couldn't have been much better.

Please note the heavy sarcasm.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

_**Paulo**_

**

* * *

**

A short man in a red coat and little hat greeted me as I entered the lobby. The Fallows wasn't as impressive on the inside as it had first seemed and it was as though I'd just stepped back in time. Everywhere I looked there was Victorian furniture, Victorian wallpaper, Victorian paintings... My head spun. It seemed an odd place for a rich and successful businessman- someone like Hart- to hang out, but maybe that was what he was going for, the subtle, I'm-in-a-place-you-never-thought-to-look-approach. Clever. I had to give him points for that, though we'd found him so he wasn't _that_ good.

With my small suitcase in hand, I obediently trotted after the man. He was babbling on about something or other, but I was barely paying attention; out of the corner of my eye, just before we reached the lift, I'd caught sight of a sitting area and, more importantly, a person in there.

Lucas Hart.

As we rode the lift up to the third floor, I started concocting a devious and clever plan. It involved a glass of wine- or some other beverage if I failed to get my hands on that- and a carefully measured stumble. I resisted the urge to grin and rub my hands together- _stay away from the clichés, Paulo._ After tipping the man with a bundle of notes that I hadn't counted out (he looked pleased so it was probably a tad more than was expected), I waited for him to disappear down the corridor before following along behind, the picture of innocence. There was no guarantee that Hart would stay in the sitting room, but I wanted to get a general feel of the hotel's layout before attempting anything. If I had to make a dash for it, I wanted to be sure of where I was going. No bumbling about in the halls for me.

Fifteen minutes and many wrong turns later, I was walking into the little room, a glass of water in my hand. Having failed to find some wine and not wanting to give Hart any excuse to run away and attend to a huge red stain, I had to make do with an icy glass of good old H2O. Timing was everything; I wanted the accident to look exactly that- accidental- and I didn't want too many people about. As I was debating whether to just risk it and bumble on in, some lady with Botox enhanced lips and a horrid fur coat stood up and announced she wanted to play a game of cards. Half a dozen people followed her past me, out of the room, leaving just Hart and a few stragglers behind.

I seized the moment and strode on in.

'I'm so sorry!' I gasped, mentally applauding myself for a very convincing performance, as my water leapt from the glass and onto the paper Hart had folded on his lap. There was a brief pause; I held my breath and then-

'No harm done.' Hart smiled good-naturedly and, carefully, trying to keep the page level, he lifted up the newspaper and placed it on the table beside his chair. Most of the water had fallen on the paper, though there was a patch halfway up his shirt. Perfect.

'I'm really sorry about that,' I apologised. 'My mind's elsewhere.' Snagging some serviettes from a tray of cups and saucers, I dabbed at the water on the newspaper. Hart was preoccupied with the water on his shirt and didn't answer. I slowed in my dabbing, wondering if it'd be odd for me to elaborate. Deciding to just go for it, I added, 'I'm looking into joining a company and it's amazing how many businesses come out of the woodwork when they hear you have money.' I inserted a little chortle as Hart paused, apparently listening more attentively now. 'They're all hostile and threatening to throw you off the premises until you express an interest in funding them. Then it's all "sir" and "I'll fetch the manager, even though I said he was out of town for the week".'

Hart dropped the serviettes onto the still soaking newspaper and laughed. 'You're a businessman too?'

'Not so much businessman as potential investor,' I corrected. 'Are you?'

With a half smile Hart said, 'You could say that. I'm Lucas Hart, by the way.' He extended his hand and I shook it.

'Enrico Martinez.'

'Well, Enrico, it's a pleasure to meet you, though I do wish it had of been in less...' he glanced down at his wet shirt '...chilly circumstances.'

I pasted a guilty expression onto my face, mixing in a grimace for good measure and hoping it had the desired affect and didn't just make me look deformed. 'Sorry.'

'I'm joking,' Hart assured me, clapping me on the shoulder and then gesturing to the chair opposite him. As I sat down, he added, 'So what sort of business are you looking to back?'

Remembering the practice earlier that morning, I said, 'Something profitable, that won't cause me much trouble. I'm not too good at the whole business thing, which is why I figured I'd be an investor rather than an owner.'

'Oh.' Hart seemed both intrigued and confused, so I put him out of his misery.

'My grandparents died a few months ago and left me everything, so now you could say I've got quite a bit of spare cash.'

The confusion vanished. 'I see.' He studied me and I tried not to fidget under his stare, letting my eyes roam around the room. As my gaze flickered across the window, I frowned; had something just moved out there? The black shadow had passed so quickly I couldn't be sure if I'd imagined it or not, but Hart was talking again so I reluctantly put it from my mind.

'...imports and exports. We mainly deal in electronics. Perhaps you've heard of HPW Industries.'

'No, sorry, I haven't,' I answered, not even bothering with a lie in case he asked me what my favourite product of theirs was or something. The shadow by the window still played on my mind, flitting through my thoughts just as it had passed through my vision. I was sure there was something out there. _Someone_ out there.

Hart seemed to notice my lack of attention. He followed my gaze. 'What is it?'

'I don't know,' I said slowly, my muscles tense, hands gripping the armrests of the chair. 'I thought I saw- There!' I pointed at the window. There was no doubt now; there was _definitely_ something moving outside.

'Perhaps it was a cat...' Hart said, but he didn't sound too certain. Nervous, yes. Positive that it was just a large kitty on a late night prowl, no.

'I don't think-'

I had no time to finish the sentence as the window shattered into a million fragments. Someone screamed. A bullet ripped past and buried itself in the back wall.

'Get down!' I yelled, diving out of my chair and seizing a frozen Hart by the arms. I yanked him down and pushed him behind my chair as a second bullet thumped into the chair Hart had just been occupying. Still people continued to scream, though their voices sounded fainter now. Hart was so pale I thought he might faint at any moment. I lay there, on the floor, painfully aware of how exposed I was, but no more shots were fired. Slowly, I raised my head. The shooter- whoever they were- had vanished into the night, leaving behind two bullets- one embedded in a wall and the other in a chair- and a mob of terrified people.

'Is anyone hurt?' The man who'd shown me to my room earlier screeched into the sitting room, panting, his eyes huge.

'N-no,' someone called shakily.

'We're all fine, I think,' added another person, their voice just as uncertain.

I sat up properly and shook Hart's shoulder. 'Oi. You right?'

He nodded as, from the lobby, someone shouted, 'I've called the police!'

Oh crap. The police were one lot of people I really didn't want to encounter at that moment. It'd all be too messy with fake identities and questions and- I gulped- quite possibly a call to Abigail. Chaos still bubbled all around me, so I stood up and slipped out of the room. There was a back exit I'd discovered in my earlier ramble and I wasted no time in heading for it. Once out in the cool night air, I made my way around to the front of the building, sticking to the shadows as several police cars pulled up out the front of The Fallows. I waited for a few minutes then slunk across the street and down to where Amber, Hex and the van was.

Amber was almost hysterical. She leapt at me as soon as I stuck my head into the van and hugged me fiercely. 'What the hell happened?' she demanded once she'd released me. 'All we heard was Hart saying something about a cat and then shooting.'

'I think someone just tried to kill Hart,' I said slowly. 'What did the bug pick up?'

'You were saying something- "I thought I saw"- and then-'

'There was something outside the window of the sitting room-' I looked around wildly for a map, knowing I didn't have a lot of time. Hex caught my frantic glances and pushed a floor plan of the hotel towards me. I poked a finger at the sitting room, then the window where I'd seen the "thing". 'Here. There was someone lurking about outside that window; they passed by twice, I think, and then shot the window out. They missed Hart, hit the back wall of the room, so had another go at him. Or tried to. I shoved him behind a chair, just before the shot was fired.'

Hex smiled, which startled me. 'So, you saved his life?'

'Well... Maybe... I suppose so.'

'Excellent.' Hex rubbed his hands together and then poked my shoulder. 'He should be grateful, so go and see what information you can get from him. He'll be in shock, so a lot more likely to spill the beans.'

'I'm trying to avoid the police,' I told them.

Amber nodded, her face serious. 'Smart move. If Abigail finds out about this...'

She left the thought unsaid, hanging ominously in the air. The fact that we were risking our careers, our reputations, by taking on Price's theory had been pushed to the very backs of all of our minds and I wanted it to stay that way. _No biggy_, I thought. _We're simply helping an escaped prisoner, the guy who murdered our old boss, and investigating an unauthorised case. Whatever. Who cares? _Abigail certainly would, but I took comfort in the fact that, if all went to plan, she'd never know. Well... She would know, obviously, but after we'd gathered all the evidence and had enough to stop Hart and his cronies. Then she couldn't possibly get mad... Right?

'I better get back,' I said reluctantly.

Amber gave me another quick hug. 'Good luck, Paulo.'

I smiled, or tried to, and left the van, making my way back into The Fallows via the way I'd left. Halfway to my room, I bumped into Hart.

'There you are,' he said with a frown. 'Where did you go?'

_Come on, Paulo. Think. Think. Think. What does Hart want to hear? What's plausible? _'When I heard someone had called the police, I panicked.' I lowered my voice and shot a quick glance up and down the corridor. 'I've not always been on good terms with the law, if you get my drift.'

The frown disappeared to be replaced by a smile that said _I understand_. 'We have quite a lot in common, Enrico, and,' he added seriously, 'I owe you my life. If you wish, I would like to both thank you and perhaps talk some more about your... business ventures. I am having dinner with some of my colleagues tomorrow night if you would care to join us.'

I resisted the urge to whoop and punch the air, settling instead for a happy smile. 'Sounds great.'

'Excellent,' Hart said, his tone so much like the one Hex had used less than ten minutes before I almost jumped. 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'll head back to my room. I've had more than enough excitement for one night.' He shook my hand firmly. 'Once again, I can't thank you enough.'

As Hart vanished down the hall, I couldn't help it. The triumphant whoop and air punch escaped. Thanks to some unknown assassin, I was well on my way to becoming part of Hart's inner circle.

_This'll be easy_, I thought. _Easy peasy. _

How wrong I was.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

**Chapter Sixteen**

_**Amber**_

**

* * *

**

The atmosphere in the meeting room the following morning was a mixture of melancholy and jubilance. Paulo was almost on cloud nine, stoked over his success the night before, but the absence of both Mara and Alex was troubling us all, even Paulo. Alex, we knew about; even so, it still angered us to know that his future at MI5 was hanging in the balance. It sucked, not only because of how he was being treated but also because there was nothing we could do about it. Mara though... Her absence was a complete mystery, even to Neil. He'd rushed into the meeting room late, asking if any of us had seen Mara. When we said that no, we hadn't, he looked even more worried; we did too when he explained that no one had seen or heard from her since the afternoon before.

Pushing all non-mission related thoughts away, I addressed my friends. 'Righto. Last night went a tad more smoothly than our initial surveillance. Paulo's going to a dinner with not only Hart but "some colleagues" of his as well, so he might be able to get some crucial information. We also have the name of Hart's company, HPW Industries, and Hex ran a check on it this morning.'

'Indeed I did,' Hex said from the corner, barely glancing up from his palmtop. 'I've got an address and a vague, outdated list of employees. Thought we might take a drive over and check it out later today.'

'Can't be me,' Li said. 'I'm heading to the gym again- Weller and Fryer.' She looked torn, as though she couldn't decide what was worse: sussing out a building or hanging out with two of our targets. I could gather from that indecision that Li's undercover work wasn't as exciting as she'd hoped; the very fact that she was even considering a form of surveillance was resounding proof.

'I could,' Paulo offered, 'but if Hart's there...'

I nodded. 'No. Good point, Paulo. Well I can't, so Hex or Neil, or both... What?' I added quickly as Hex finally glanced up from his precious palmtop.

'Why can't you?'

'Er... No reason. I just... have some stuff to do, that's all.'

'Like what?'

I considered whistling nonchalantly and pointedly changing the subject, but decided against it as everyone turned in my direction. So much for me sneaking off quietly... 'I thought,' I said, careful to keep my voice measured and calm, 'that I might pay Jasper a visit.'

'And why would you need to do that?' Hex asked, his tone exactly the same as mine.

'I have a few things to ask him and he won't talk over the phone.'

For a moment I thought Hex was going to ask what sort of questions I had for Jasper and I got ready to lie my butt off, but then he shrugged, packed away his palmtop and said, 'Well then, let's go. Neil can look into the company if he's not busy. If he is, then we can do it when we get back. This shouldn't take too long, right?'

'What?'

'Let's... go... and... talk-'

'I know what you said,' I replied, a touch snappy. 'But why do you feel the need to come along?'

'Because I haven't seen Pricey for a while and, well, I'd like to see how he's going.' If Hex's voice had of dripped with any more sarcasm we'd have been drowning in the stuff.

I let the matter drop- for the time being- pulling out my cell phone and the piece of paper that had Jasper's contact number scrawled on it. Neil muttered something to Hex and left, followed by Li and Paulo as I keyed in the number and waited for Jasper to pick up.

When the ringing stopped but I got no greeting, I said, 'Jasper?'

'Is that Annie?'

'Yep.'

There was a relieved sigh. 'Hello. How's the... er... thing going?'

'Pretty well, but,' I said, 'I need to ask you a few more questions, if that's okay.'

'Sure.' There was a brief pause, the faint rustle of paper and then, sounding almost guilty, he added, 'You shouldn't swim straight after eating, Annie... You might just sink straight to the bottom.'

'What're you-'

I received no clarification on the matter because Jasper hung up, leaving me standing in the middle of the meeting room, my phone still clamped to my ear and bewildered expression on my face. Had that been a location for where I was meant to meet him?

'Hey, code boy,' I said to Hex, snapping out of my trance and slipping my phone back into the pocket of my jeans. 'Unravel this: you shouldn't swim straight after eating, you might just sink to the bottom.'

Barely half a minute later, Hex said, 'He tried to kill you.'

I just about lost it. 'For crying out loud, Hex,' I snapped, 'we've been over this _how_ many times?'

'No,' Hex corrected, shaking his head. '_He tried to kill you_. That's where he wants to meet.'

'At the flats?' What a stupid choice of location. Yeah, the residence kept to themselves, but still... Much too public.

Once again, a head shake. 'No. That industrial lot. Near the Thames.'

'Oh.' My stomach churned as I remembered my brush with death. If Hex hadn't of been there, pulled me out of the water, I'd have still been at the bottom of the river. 'Right.' The lump in my throat stuck stubbornly and refused to slide away, no matter how hard I swallowed.

**

* * *

**

Jasper was leaning against a small shed when we arrived. As Hex emerged from the driver's seat, Jasper paled; he'd obviously not counted on me bringing company.

'Hi,' I greeted him as we made our way over to the shed. Taking a few steps back, Jasper regarded Hex with a wary expression. Hex's eyes were narrowed, his jaw clenched.

'Tasteful,' he said coldly. 'Very classy, meeting someone at the place you tried to kill them.'

Guilt etched itself firmly into Jasper's features and didn't leave for the entire meeting. 'I can't apologise enough about that, Annie.'

'Whatever.' Hex brushed Jasper off. 'Saying you're sorry doesn't change the fact that you're a murderer. And,' he added sharply, 'it's Amber. Not Annie.'

'Okay,' I interrupted quickly, stepping between the two of them; I deeply regretted not having put up more of a fight, insisted that Hex not come along. 'Let's just put the past behind us and focus on the mission. Hmm?'

They both mumbled what I took to be either cussing or agreements- at that stage I really didn't care, so long as they shut up and stopped attacking each other- so I continued: 'Luis is dead.'

'So I heard.'

'Did you have anything to do with it?'

Jasper looked appalled. 'What? Are you serious? Yeah, I wasn't exactly fond of the guy but would I really be that stupid?'

'Too late,' Hex muttered. I glared in his direction and he backed off.

'So you didn't shoot him?' I asked, just to make certain.

'I didn't shoot him. You know I don't kill unless I have to.'

Hex decided to put his two cents in. 'So Harry had to go, did he? Amber had to go? What about the people who've died because of you that we don't know about?'

Rubbing his temples, Jasper, his voice almost a hiss, said, 'The death of your boss was an accident. I swear.'

'The gun fired itself, did it?'

'Enough!' I barked. 'Will both of you just _quit it_.' They fell silent, having the decency to look slightly embarrassed. 'Moving on,' I continued, my tone still warning. 'And what about the question mark on the list of names? Is there someone else connected to Hart?'

'No,' Jasper said, clearly relieved that the conversation had moved away from him. 'The head guy.'

'That's what I said: Hart.'

Looking confused, Jasper said, 'Hart? Hart's not in charge. He's working for someone.'

Hex and I shared a look of pure disbelief. We'd been chasing Hart, thinking he was top dog and had all the answers and now it seemed he was no more than a lackey.

'Don't get me wrong,' Jasper added quickly, seeing the expressions on our faces. 'He's definitely a big part of all this, he's just not at the top.'

'Well who is then?'

Jasper shrugged. 'No idea. No matter how had I've tried, I can't find a thing on him.'

'What if it _is _Hart,' Hex said, 'but he's just being crafty and making up this mysterious "head guy" to cover his own back?'

'No. Not possible.' Even though Jasper didn't elaborate, I didn't push him for evidence. I had other things on my mind- the question mark for example.

'So the question mark is for another person who's involved with this head guy?'

'Yes.'

I groaned. 'Great. Two more potential targets and we haven't got a bloody clue who they are.' Jasper looked stricken so I added with a sigh, 'It's not your fault and you've done an amazing job getting all this information. It's made _our_ job a hell of a lot easier, let me tell you.'

With goodbyes exchanged between me and Jasper and a final, _I'm watching you_ glare between Jasper and Hex, we left, the new information running through my mind like a mouse on a wheel. Round and round and round and round... Never stopping, never getting anywhere, never making sense.

Round and round and round.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

**Chapter Seventeen**

_**Hex**_

**

* * *

**

Two hours after Amber and I had met with Price, I was sitting at the kitchen bench of our flat with my palmtop, trying to ignore Li. Normally I'd be able to just block her out and continue with whatever I was doing, but when she's literally in your face, between the screen and your line of sight, things become slightly more complex.

'Li,' I said in an _I'm trying to be patient, don't push me_ tone. 'Would you mind backing off about five feet?' She tried to peer at the screen but I reached past her and quickly shut the lid.

'What're you doing?'

I sighed wearily, figuring that the quickest and easiest way to get rid of her was to just give in. '_Trying_ to write an email.'

'Who to?'

'What is this? Twenty questions?'

Amber clearing her throat saved me from answering anymore questions and Li from being strangled. I pushed my palmtop away and Li retreated to a spare stool. Alex was leaning on the bench next to Paulo and Neil was sitting beside Amber. Mara still hadn't made an appearance, a fact that certainly hadn't escaped Neil's attention. He fidgeted and kept glancing at his watch then frowning worriedly.

'Jasper says he didn't kill Luis,' Amber said, 'and I think he's telling the truth. We also managed to find out that Hart isn't the guy in charge.'

'So who is?' Paulo asked, sounding puzzled.

I shrugged. 'Don't know. Price-' I tried to keep my voice civil and free of loathing '-also said he doesn't have a clue who the mystery woman is. Fat lot of help he was.'

'He did say,' Amber said loudly, drowning out my final sentence, 'that the question mark represents a woman who is connected to this boss, whoever he is.'

'So we have a mystery man and mystery woman, both who are probably the most important and involved people with this machine. Great.' Alex sounded completely bitter. He must have heard my last comment, despite Amber's less than subtle attempts to cover it up, because he added to me, 'You're right, Hex. Fat lot of use Price is turning out to be.'

'Alright,' Amber snapped, annoyed. 'That's enough.' She frowned at Alex disapprovingly. 'I've already had to deal with his pathetic attitude this morning-' she flung a hand my way, almost swiping poor Neil off his chair in the process '-so don't you start as well.'

'Don't invoke the mighty wrath of Amber Middleton,' Li said in what I assume was meant to be a spooky voice. She opened her mouth, no doubt about to continue with her ghostly warning, but thought twice when Amber shot her a furious glare. She smiled meekly and firmly shut her mouth.

Before Amber could continue speaking, there was a soft tap at the door followed by, 'It's only me.'

I hurried across and opened the door, letting a sheepish looking Mara into the flat. She cleared her throat under our collective gaze and said, 'So what's been happening this morning?'

'Where have you been?' Neil's face was switching between worried, relieved and furious.

'Oh, out and about,' Mara answered vaguely. 'But enough about me; how did you go last night, Paulo?'

Neil's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, but Mara had made such a deliberate and sudden change of subject that he didn't press the matter. He'd finally sorted out his expression, settling with relieved with just a hint of annoyance.

'Quite well,' Paulo said modestly.

'Quite well?' Li echoed. 'You saved his life, you twit. I'd say that's a bit better than "quite well".'

Mara's eyebrows flew up and settled under her fringe. 'You saved Hart's life? How?'

Considering I'd already heard the story and been there to experience it more or less first hand, I felt safe to turn my attention back to the email I'd been writing. There wasn't a lot to say to John- just that we needed more time to decide about moving to Boston and we were in the middle of a "project" at the moment- but for some reason I was having trouble wording it. Deciding to just leave it for Amber to do, I abandoned the email and sat back.

Li seized the opportunity, leaping forwards and snatching the palmtop from the bench.

'Hey!' I cried, flinging myself after her. All this resulted in was me on the floor and Li cackling like mad on the other side of the kitchen. Her laughter died abruptly as she read over John's initial email; she stared from me to Amber in shock.

'You're leaving?'

As one, Alex, Neil, Mara and Paulo copied Li, their eyes darting between me and Amber. I pointedly stared at the floor, leaving Amber to explain; she gave a tired sigh and, as I looked back up again, plucked my palmtop from an unresisting Li.

'Here.' She passed my computer back to me. 'Nothing's been decided yet, guys. My uncle was merely putting the offer out there.'

'Offer?' Mara seemed just a tiny bit baffled.

'He wants to retire soonish, within the next few years, so he's asked if Hex and I want to go to Boston and take over my family's business.'

'Oh,' Mara said softly. 'And... you are?'

'Like Amber said,' I put in, 'nothing's been decided yet.'

'But you might be.'

'Yes, Li,' Amber answered in an unnaturally quiet voice. 'We might be.'

The room was enveloped in a thoughtful silence. I caught Amber's eye and she grimaced. _Could've gone better_, she mouthed. I shrugged.

'If you do move,' Li said suddenly, 'we'll still stay in touch, right?'

Amber looked mortified that Li even felt she had to ask. 'Of course, Li.'

Li smiled, though sadly. 'Good, because otherwise I wouldn't let either of you go.' She clapped her hands once and it seemed to break the sombre mood. 'What's the time, anyone know?'

Consulting the clock on my palmtop, I told her, 'Nearly eleven.'

Her face turned panicked and she leapt across the kitchen and barrelled for the front door.

'Where're you going?' Paulo called.

'Gym,' Li shouted over her shoulder. 'Gotta meet whatsherface and thingamabob. See ya!'

While Li's codenames were slightly less than professional, it was easy to guess who she was going to see- her two targets, Weller and Fryer. I turned off my palmtop and slid it back into its case. As I pushed it away, I saw the expression on Alex's face. He seemed... Curious. In fact, he'd looked curious since Amber had brought up the mystery woman was connected to the head guy.

'What is it?' I asked him. He jumped and blinked at me.

'Huh?'

'What is it?' I repeated. 'You look all...'

Alex obviously understood what I meant and was referring to because he didn't wait for me to find a suitable word before answering: 'I'm just... thinking.' He muttered something inaudible. 'Yeah. Thinking.'


	19. Chapter Eighteen

**Chapter Eighteen**

_**Li**_

**

* * *

**

After an aerobics class that was as thrilling as watching ice melt, I joined Fryer and Weller in the ground floor cafe. I got a cheerful smile from the latter, while Fryer continued to gaze sullenly into her juice.

'Did you have fun, Elise?' Weller asked, pushing a glass of some liquidated vegetable towards me. I regarded the swirl of red, green and orange with caution, then took a tiny sip; it actually didn't taste that bad and I'd certainly had far worse.

'Oh yeah,' I said, deciding it wouldn't hurt to stretch the truth a tiny bit. 'Loads.'

'Good. You should come along again on Friday; we've got a step class, don't we, Naomi?'

Fryer glanced up, startled. 'What?'

'Friday. Step class.'

'What about it?' Fryer said with a frown.

'Never mind.' Turning back to me, Weller added, 'Friday morning. Come along if you can.'

I took another gulp of the juice, starting to enjoy the slightly bitter taste. 'I'd like that.' Not really, but she didn't need to know that.

'Did you ask her about tonight yet?'

Weller blinked at her friend for a split second before saying, 'Oh, not yet. Slipped my mind.'

'Tonight?' I questioned, not wanting to get my hopes up but unable to stop the rising sense of excitement.

Weller nodded. 'Mhmm. We're having dinner with a few friends and we were wondering if you wanted to come along.'

'Oh. I don't want to intrude...'

'Don't be silly, Elise!' she exclaimed. 'I told Alistair- my boyfriend- all about you and he was the one who told me to extend the invitation!' She then looked slightly guilty. 'Well, once he knew about your parents and their business... he wanted you to come along.'

I gave a little laugh, delighted. Alistair. Alistair Payton. It had to be. So, Weller was dating Payton- the first real, definite connection between both her and Fryer and the men constructing the machine. This was one dinner I wasn't going to miss out on.

'Is he a businessman?'

'Yeah. I don't know what he does exactly- whenever I used to ask he'd just tell me it was too complex to explain. I don't bother anymore. As long as it's nothing illegal, I'm fine with it.' She gave a little laugh.

"Actress" hadn't been included on the list of information Mara and Neil had gathered on Weller, so I assumed that the occupation had either been overlooked or she honestly knew nothing about the machine. Still, her dinner companions sure would.

'So do you want to come along? We're meeting at about sevenish at Francis Jane's; it's just down the road from here. Have you heard of it?'

Heard of it? I'd driven past it for years. The pretty little restaurant didn't seem a likely place for our targets to meet up, or anyone with their money for that matter. Then again, this was a "dinner with friends" and, as Paulo had remarked over Hart's use of The Fallows, our targets seemed to take great care to keep under the radar.

I didn't need to think about my answer so I said, 'Sure. Sounds great.'

'Wonderful. Lucas- one of Alistair's friends from work- is bringing along someone as well- his newest buddy, Al said. Eric? Was that his name, Naomi?'

'Enrico,' Fryer answered in a bored sort of voice.

'That's it. Enrico.'

So Hart and Paulo were going to be there... Ah- I'd just been invited to the same dinner that Paulo had the night before. Well now I definitely had to go. There was no way I was just going to sit back and let him have all the fun.

We continued chatting for a few more minutes about mundane topics: I discovered that Weller and Payton had been dating for a good three years and had lived together for the past eight months- that was possibly the only enlightening part of the conversation. I had to ask myself though, as I left the gym shortly afterwards, could you honestly be that close to someone, be such a big part of their life, and still not know what they did for a living?

Amber's face floated into my head: she hadn't known about her parents, about what they did on their trips abroad- then again, she'd just been a kid, away at her prestigious boarding school half the time. Laura broke up with Alex for the very reason she felt he was keeping something from her. Keeping secrets wasn't always the best way to go- people got hurt, misunderstandings happened and bonds were broken. _But_, I reasoned, _some secrets_ need_ to be kept. If they got out, those things could still happen. _

Argh. Sometimes it seemed like life got kicks out of being complicated.

**

* * *

**

At exactly seven o'clock I walked into Francis' Janes, wondering if my evening was going to be a productive one. Weller caught sight of me and waved; she was sitting at a table over by the back corner, Payton to her left, West across from her.

'Very punctual,' Weller said as I joined them. She checked her watch. 'Right on seven. The others aren't here yet, but we're going to order drinks anyway. Do you want anything?'

I shook my head and took a seat beside West. He grinned and said, 'Hi. I'm Riley.'

'Elise. Nice to meet you.'

Our conversation- or what was perhaps the start of one- was interrupted by the arrival of Hart and Paulo. Weller looked up, smiled in welcome and beckoned them over.

'Hey, Lucas,' she said. 'And you're Enrico, right?'

Paulo nodded. 'You must be Imogen, Alistair, Riley and-' He stopped and tilted his head on the side, doing a good job at hiding his surprise; I'd neglected to inform him about my plan to attend the dinner, a fact I'd worried about. Luckily, Paulo was on the ball and didn't react with anything more than curiosity to my presence.

'This is Elise,' Weller cut in.

'Ah,' Hart said smiling at me. 'Yes. Lovely to meet you.'

'You too.'

Barely a minute later, Fryer came into the restaurant with a man that I instantly recognised from the photos Mara and Neil had given us: Christopher Adlam. His arm was around Fryer's waist and she was smiling happily; our second connection between the two lists of names. Now all we needed was the head guy and question mark woman and the gang would be complete.

Once again, the introductions were made. We ordered shortly after, though I didn't have much of an appetite. I was trying to split my attention between eavesdropping on the other conversations taking place at the table and talking to West, who wouldn't leave me alone. Not that I was complaining- when he stopped casually dropping hints and asked me outright if I was seeing anyone three quarters of the way through the meal, I saw a golden opportunity begin to shine, a chance for me to start some proper undercover work and get away from the gym, Weller and Fryer; it was looking more and more certain that they didn't have a clue what was going on.

'So, Elise,' Hart suddenly said, causing me to look up sharply. 'Your parents run a business in China, correct?'

I nodded. 'Electronics and software. It's all a bit boring, to be honest.'

'Will you be taking over in the future?'

'Yeah. My parents want me to start "playing a more active part",' I said with a sigh and air quotes around the last five words, 'when I get back. Naturally I'm making this holiday last as long as possible.'

Hart gave a little chuckle. 'Running a business doesn't appeal to you then?'

'Well yes and no. Maybe, a bit later on in life, but right now I don't really want all the responsibility. My parents are adamant that I take over as soon as possible though; they want me to work for my inheritance,' I added with a smile.

Hart nodded knowingly and I could almost see his brain ticking over, perhaps wondering if I'd be interested in making a little investment into his "company". Or his boss' company. I had to keep reminding myself that Hart wasn't top dog, that there was someone else out there calling the shots, making all the decisions.

The evening wore on, nothing of much interest was revealed and, at about ten o'clock, I found myself standing outside the restaurant, waiting for a cab. There was the soft clack of footsteps behind me; I turned around, finding West standing there.

'Waiting for a cab?' he asked.

I nodded and peered out up the road, as though that'd make it come quicker.

'It was really nice meeting you, Elise,' he continued, with a lot more confidence than I'd expected, 'and I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner tomorrow night- just the two of us.'

'Oh, er-'

'Look, if you don't want to...' West suddenly looked awkward, the older facade crumbling away; he started to back away, towards the restaurant again.

'No,' I said quickly; he stopped short, startled. 'I'd like that.'

'Really?'

I nodded. 'Yeah. I would.'

'Okay then. Um... So, tomorrow night? Is six alright?'

I nodded again. 'Sure.'

West started back inside, then seemed to realise he'd forgotten something important. 'Oh, um, did you want to go anywhere in particular?'

'I'm the tourist, Riley,' I said jokingly. 'You're the local. I really don't mind. Any other good restaurants round here?'

He thought for a moment then said, 'Fire and Ice's got nice food. That sound okay?'

'Sounds great.' I tried not to dwell on what sort of grub a restaurant with a name like "Fire and Ice" would dish up and smiled sweetly.

I scribbled my mobile number on the back of a business card for my dry cleaners- well, if nothing significant eventuated from all this, at least they'd have gotten a bit of free advertising. West slipped the card into his pocket, said goodnight and headed back inside. I wasn't exactly sticking to the plan, but suffering through a date with West had to be better than making small talk with Weller and Fryer. After all, at least West knew that the machine even existed. If all went exceedingly well and luck was on our side, I'd be able to weasel some info out of him, Paulo would discover some facts from Hart and the case would be wrapped up in a matter of weeks.

But, as I should have known, life rarely sticks to your expectations.


	20. Chapter Nineteen

**Chapter Nineteen**

_**Alex**_

**

* * *

**

'Hey, Alex.' Mara peered past me, into my flat. 'Can I come in?'

'Er- sure.' I stepped back and let her in; it was early and I'd just woken up, my mind was still foggy with sleep. As I rubbed blearily at my eyes and considered using good old caffeine to jerk me to life, Mara sat at the kitchen table, her hands clasped together.

'Want a coffee?' I asked, coming to the conclusion that, yes, caffeine was what I needed at that moment.

'Only if you're having one.'

I boiled the kettle and spooned out some instant into two mugs, handing one to Mara once I'd finished making it. She sipped distractedly at the drink; I sat down across from her.

'Is this a social visit?'

Mara set her mug down. 'Kinda.' She drunk some more coffee, almost compulsively and looking as though the taste was irrelevant. 'Do you know where I was yesterday morning? Before I went to Amber and Hex's?'

I shook my head.

'I was at a... therapist, I suppose you could call him. Eugene Simons. He specialises in post traumatic stress and similar conditions.' She gave me a meaningful look.

'What?' I said with a frown.

Slowly, Mara pulled a white card out of her pocket and slid it across the table to me. I looked at it, but didn't pick it up: it was a business card for this Eugene Simons guy.

'He's really good, Alex. I'm serious. He's not like a psychiatrist. He knows what he's doing.'

'Why are you telling me all this?'

Mara shifted in her seat and said softly, 'You should go see him.'

'No. No way.' Angrily I flicked the card back at her. She caught the slim piece of cardboard and set it back down on the table with a hint of finality; she looked at me seriously.

'Alex, think about it. You're not yourself. Anyone can see that. You might be fired because-'

'Of Abigail,' I cut in furiously. 'Why can't you just butt out, Mara? Why can't _everyone_ just mind their own business?'

'You want to know why?' Mara said, sounding both angry and upset.

'Yeah, actually; I do.'

'Because we're your friends, Alex. We're your friends and we don't like seeing you like this; you're blaming yourself for something that wasn't your fault, an accident that you couldn't prevent from happening.'

My jaw tightened. 'So you think it was an accident as well now, do you? Well I was there, Mara, I saw what happened and let me tell you it most certainly wasn't an accident. And yes, it is partly my fault that Harry's dead. I egged him on, told him to try and get the gun.'

Mara ignored me and ploughed ahead, glaring at the table and refusing to meet my eyes. 'If you stopped bottling everything up and just let people try to help you, it'd be better, trust me. You don't always have to be the strong one, Alex. What you're going through doesn't mean you're weak, it means you're human; you've lost someone you cared about. We all know the feeling.'

I almost said, 'What would you know?' then realised that Mara was probably the only person who had the slightest idea of what I was feeling. When I didn't answer- I was still trying to think of something to say- Mara glanced up, her expression softer.

'Just ring him, Alex. Make one appointment and, if you don't think it's helped, I won't pressure you to go back. But just try, please. We're all worried about you.'

I sighed and then, slowly, held out my hand for the card. She pressed it into my palm with a tiny smile and a soft, 'Thank you.' Leaving her at the table, I went into the lounge and grabbed the phone, punching in the number for this Eugene Simons guy.

He answered on the second ring.

'Hello, Eugene speaking.'

Didn't exactly sound like the way to answer the phone at a business and I certainly hadn't expected to actually speak to him personally. 'Oh, um, hi. A friend gave me your number and she said you're a... therapist.'

'That I am,' Simons said lightly. 'Would you like to make an appointment?'

Did I? No, not a chance in hell, but I almost felt like I owed it to Mara. 'Yeah. I guess so.'

Simons laughed. 'You don't sound so certain.'

'Well I haven't always had the best experience with "therapists",' I answered, hoping that he'd pick up on the spoken quotes around the final word. My faith in so called therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists and whatever ever other fancy labels they branded themselves with was limited. So limited in fact I'd actually classify it as "non existant".

'Hopefully I'll be able to help,' Simons said, not sounding in the least bit offended. 'What's the name of the friend who recommended me?'

Not so much recommended as shoved a card in my hand and told me to "try, please". 'Mara Hunter,' I said.

'Ah, yes. Mara. She was here yesterday morning.'

'So she said.'

There was the rustle of paper, some inaudible words and then, 'And your name is?'

'Alex Craig.'

'Alex... Craig...' Simons said, sounding as though he was writing it down. 'I do remember Mara saying something about you.'

Thanks, Mara. So much.

'Do you want to make your consultation tomorrow evening? I suppose you have work during the day...' I didn't correct him '...and I'm fully booked out in the afternoon, but what about seven thirty? Would that suit?'

'Sure. Why not.'

'Excellent.' There was a faint snap, like a thick book being shut suddenly. 'See you then. You have my address, yes?'

I glanced down at the card in my hand. 'Yep. Bye.'

Hanging up abruptly, I dropped the phone onto the desk and pushed the card deep into my pocket. Seven thirty the next night. I'd have to write that down. My gaze fell on the old newspaper on my desk- the one with the front page shot of the protective policeman and Luis' body in the background- and I picked up a pen, ready to scribble the details down. Before I could though, I noticed someone lurking in the back of the photo. Their head was half bent over- it looked like they were entering something into their phone; a text perhaps?- but still, I recognised them immediately. How could we have been so stupid, so ignorant, and not noticed that when Neil had first shown us the article?

I snatched the paper up and raced back into the kitchen. Mara looked up, her satisfied expression flicking to one of alarm.

'What is it?' she asked quickly, leaping to her feet. I didn't answer, just shoved the paper at her. She took it, scanned the front page and added, 'I've already seen-'

'_Look_,' I insisted, pointing at the page. Mara followed my finger and her eyes grew wide.

**

* * *

**

Once Hex, Amber, Li, Paulo and Neil were standing or sitting in my kitchen, I flung the paper onto the bench with disgust.

'Look at that,' I said. They all responded the same way Mara had, reminding me that they'd already read the article. Once again, I pointed out Abigail; that was where the reactions differed.

Amber snatched for the paper, peered at the picture from close range and then shrugged. 'Coincidence.'

'No,' I said firmly. 'It's not. I _knew_ she was connected to Price, I just couldn't prove it. That's proof.'

With a little disbelieving laugh, Li said, 'That's not proof, Alex. Like Amber said, it's a coincidence.'

'Oh? Really? So she just happened to be walking past at that time. What's she doing with her phone?'

'Texting someone, probably,' Hex put in, looking at the photograph from over Amber's shoulder. 'But texting who? And what about? And why at that exact moment, just when she could have caught sight of Luis' body?' She handed him the paper with a sceptical grunt.

'Putting this aside for just one minute,' she said, 'can you give us a reason for this sudden wish to implicate Abigail?'

I felt rage bubble up inside me again. 'Because,' I spat, 'she's involved. I know it.'

'How?' Amber insisted.

It took just a few minutes to recount the true reason for my perhaps permanent dismissal. Abigail's words had been printed into my mind and I found myself saying them almost exactly as she had. When I'd finished, the room was icy.

'That _bitch_,' hissed Mara. 'I can't _believe_ she said that!'

Amber seemed to be the only one keeping an emotional step back from the whole situation; even Hex was looking thunderous, glaring at the Abigail's face in the photograph as though he wished she'd appear in the room, just so he could give her a piece of his mind.

'That may be,' Amber said slowly, mindful of the building anger in the kitchen, 'but it's hardly resounding proof. Just-' she bit her lip, as though uncertain if she should continue, then carried on anyway '-put yourself in Abigail's shoes for a minute.'

She waited, perhaps assuming we all would. I, for one, didn't bother.

'Now imagine that you're waiting patiently for an opening at head office to come up- you've been waiting for ages and it feels like you'll be stuck working under people for the rest of your life. You feel like you'll never accomplish your goals, never get a chance to make a significant difference, have a real impact. Suddenly you hear about the death of the current head officer. The position's opened up, vacant, and you get it.'

'That doesn't give a reason for what she said, Amber,' I interrupted. 'Or the way she said it.'

'Okay then,' Amber said with a sigh, deciding to change tacts. 'What about the fact that Jasper told me- and Hex- that he had nothing to do with Luis' shooting?'

'He was lying. Or,' I added, 'he had Abigail deal with Luis.'

Amber threw up her hands in defeat. 'This is insane,' she muttered. 'Abigail can't be corrupt.'

'We didn't think Tanya was either,' I reminded her.

She twitched, took a few deep breaths and then picked up the paper again, staring intently at the photograph. Something seemed to click because she frowned and said, 'Maybe you're right. Maybe she _is_ connected to all this.'

'You mean to Price?'

Amber shook her head and dropped the newspaper back onto the bench. 'No. Hart. The machine. Maybe that's why there was no investigation into Helton's death.'

'She wasn't in head office then, Amber,' Li said.

'But she was still with MI5, she would have still had the contacts. If Hart killed- or got someone to kill- Helton, then getting Abigail to help cover it all up would have been a cinch. He might have even got MI5 to take him out, planted evidence, spun a story, had Abigail put a word in...' She nodded, almost to herself, then suddenly froze.

'What?' Paulo asked, nervous.

'What if,' Amber said slowly, pulling the paper towards her again, 'Abigail is the question mark?'

There was silence as we all took in this new possibility. My mind was racing, eager to slot Abigail into the frame in any way possible; I didn't care about evidence or facts at that moment, just some way to get back at her.

'Hang on,' Neil said, dragging us all back down to earth. 'What's this Luis guy got to do with Hart?'

'I don't know, Neil.' Amber bit her lip again then sprung into action, grabbing for her bag and heading for the door, adding, 'Come on, Li.'

'Where're you going?' Hex called as Li, looking a bit startled, followed Amber.

They didn't turn around, but Amber yelled, 'To get some answers,' over her shoulder. The door swung shut with a resounding click, leaving us with an outdated paper and a whole lot of assumptions.


	21. Chapter Twenty

**Chapter Twenty**

_**Amber**_

**

* * *

**

Jasper's face was an unreadable jumble of emotions when Li and I entered the industrial lot. Beside me, Li faltered for the barest second, then she found her composure and continued walking. It wasn't just Hex then; Li certainly didn't look either comfortable or thrilled to be within spitting distance of Jasper.

'What's this?' I demanded, thrusting the paper under his nose. Jasper went cross eyed, trying to focus on the object that was too close to his face, and then gently pushed my hands back, taking the newspaper from me.

He looked at the front cover and said with a slight frown, 'It appears to be an article on the shooting of Luis.'

'Now look at the photograph.' I waited while he did so then added, 'Now look at the people at the back of the shot, just to the left- your left- of the policeman. Recognise anyone?'

'No.' Jasper gave me a puzzled look and passed the paper back. 'What's this about?'

Frustrated, I jabbed a finger at Abigail's head and hissed, 'That's my boss, Jasper. Now, I want to know what the heck she was doing at the scene of a murder.'

'Passing through?'

Although I had initially thought that Abigail's appearance in the photo _was_ pure coincidence, I was slightly more open to suggestion since Alex's recount of her verbal abuse by the coffee machine. Besides, after the crap she'd put us through, being corrupt- or, more accurately, being under suspicion of corruption- was the least she deserved.

'I don't think so. She's texting someone as well, entering something into her phone. Perhaps telling someone that the murder was successful, that Luis was dead?' I let my gaze bore into him for a few seconds and then continued: 'Texting you, perhaps.'

Jasper's mouth dropped open. 'You_ what_?'

'Do you know an Abigail Newton?'

'Are you saying-'

'_Do you know her?_'

'No,' Jasper snapped. 'And, before you ask, I had _nothing_ to do with Luis' death. I didn't kill him, I didn't get someone else to kill him, I didn't even know he was still in London until I read about the shooting. I told you all that this morning, Annie. Satisfied?'

I shook my head. 'No. Not particularly.'

'What else do you want?'

'Answers, Jasper,' I said, feeling marginally hysterical. 'I want some answers. I want everything to start making sense. I want to stop running in circles.' Wearily I ran a hand through my hair and slapped the paper against my leg. 'You're telling me the truth, right?'

'Yes.'

He didn't sound too certain so I repeated, 'Right?'

'_Yes_.'

'Good. Is there anything else you can tell me, anything at all?'

'No,' Jasper said, 'but you can tell me something.'

I blinked in surprise and took a small step backwards. 'What?'

I'd meant "what" not as a "go ahead, ask" but more of a "what the hell?"; Jasper didn't seem to pick up on this.

'Why do you seem so keen to implement me in all this? Is it because of your boyfriend?'

'Implement you?' I echoed. 'What's Hex got to do with this?'

'Anyone could have been behind the shooting and yet you come and ask me twice, automatically assuming that I orchestrated the whole thing.'

'No, that's not-'

'Yes, Annie. It is.'

I made several strange sounds at the back of my throat, unable to get any of the half formed responses out of my mouth. Then, finally, I managed, 'You're the only person I know to be connected to him.'

Our conversation was interrupted by Li dashing around a corner. During my talk with Jasper she must have wandered off and come across something bad, if her panicked expression was anything to go by.

'Ah, sorry to break up the party, guys,' she hissed, grabbing my arm and starting to drag me back in the direction of the car, 'but a guy with a gun and a bad haircut just pulled up in the loading bay.'

'What did he look like?' Jasper said urgently.

That stopped Li. 'You expecting someone?' Maybe, like me, she was wondering what business Jasper could have with someone who was armed and lacking in a good hairdresser.

'Just tell me. Quickly.'

'Tall, heavy set, bad hairdo, black suit-'

'Did he have a ring on?'

'A ring- I don't know, I was a bit too preoccupied with the gun.'

'The ring would have been on the hand _holding_ the gun.'

Li shrugged, helpless, and Jasper opened his mouth; his sentence was cut off by a shriek from me as something whizzed past me and lodged in a discarded tyre half a dozen feet away.

'Go!' bellowed Jasper, snatching for my arm and shaking me out of my startled stupor.

Li didn't need telling twice. She sprinted across the exposed tarmac square, closely followed by me, Jasper hot on my heels. There was another shot fired, but almost no sound. Clever cookie was using a silencer, which didn't make me feel too confident; he'd come prepared, prepared to injure or kill as quietly as possible.

We made it to one of the derelict warehouses and darted inside, Jasper pulling what remained of the door shut behind us. The three of us huddled in a corner behind some half rotted crates and spoke in soft, frightened whispers.

'Who the hell is that?' Li demanded, looking straight at Jasper.

'I'm not one hundred per cent certain,' he said slowly, 'but I think it might be one of Luis' new guys.'

My eyes narrowed as I realised what he was implying. 'I thought you said that you hadn't known Luis was still in London. How would you know he had some new people?'

Jasper cleared his throat and picked at a splintering piece of wood. 'Okay. I lied. Once. Everything else was the truth.'

'And you wonder why I suspected you.'

From outside came the sounds of feet crunching over gravel. We fell silent and sunk down even lower behind the crates so we were almost horizontal. The footsteps grew louder and quicker before the door creaked and groaned its way open.

'Price.'

Jasper made a face, confirming that this was indeed one of Luis' henchies. Painfully slowly, he stood up, gesturing subtly that Li and I should remain hidden. Neither of us complained about that plan.

'Roberts, isn't it?'

Roberts grunted an inaudible response and raised the gun, aiming straight at Jasper's chest. My stomach clenched and Li looked alarmed, though it soon became clear that her concern wasn't for Jasper; she grabbed my arm and shot me a _don't you dare _look as I half rose, my eyes huge with fear. When I didn't sit back down, Li gave an insistent tug on my sleeve. I ignored her, remaining half crouched behind the crates.

'Hang on, mate,' Jasper said, remaining astonishingly cool, calm and collected given the fact that there was a gun pointed at him. 'What's this about?'

'You know,' Roberts grunted- again. Not too eloquent then, though since when are henchmen to drug dealers- or any sort of evil guy for that matter- gifted in the art of conversation and table manners?

'No, actually,' Jasper said, actually sounding completely bewildered. This made Roberts hesitate, the gun falling slightly from its mark.

'You killed him.'

Jasper rolled his eyes and muttered something like, 'Not you too,' then added, to Roberts, 'Trust me, I didn't kill Luis.'

'I wouldn't trust you with my pet rock, Price.'

'He has a pet rock?' Li muttered in disbelief. Once again, I ignored her.

Jasper sighed. 'I swear I didn't shoot him, but anyway, just out of curiosity, what makes you care so much? He was your boss, yeah, but you'd only been working for him for a couple of months, right?'

'So?'

'So... Why do you have these...' He trailed off, searching for the right word amongst the rotting building. 'Loyalties. Why do you have loyalties to Luis? Why do you feel the need to become a walking cliché and "avenge his demise"?'

'I'm just doing my job,' Roberts said, raising the gun again. Jasper's back chatting and apparent lack of fear seemed to be getting on his nerves. Then again, that was probably Jasper's plan. I tucked that gem of information away for future use.

'Why?'

The gun dropped a few inches again. 'Huh?'

'Luis is dead,' Jasper said bluntly. 'He's not exactly going to be checking to see you've crossed off all the tasks on your to-do list at the end of the week, is he? How many others have stuck around?'

'Others?'

'You know, the rest of Luis' guys. How many scampered off into the sunset the minute they heard he was dead?'

Roberts didn't answer and Jasper gave a little laugh.

'Just as I thought,' he said. 'All of them, isn't it? All of them except you, the new guy who was so scared of his boss he wouldn't even leave after he died. Trust me, mate, Luis ain't going to come back and haunt you if you leave. Save yourself the trouble, save yourself the murder charge and jump on the first plane to Hawaii. Or Barbados. Or Spain. Wherever. You might even be able to find some of Luis' cash, use that.'

Roberts looked steadily at Jasper, then lowered the gun. 'You're a lucky guy, Price.' He raised his voice slightly and called, 'And you two behind the crates.'

Li gave me a sideways look, an unreadable expression on her face.

'That's what I thought, too,' Jasper said softly.

With the creaking of the door and the crunch of gravel, Roberts left. Li and I didn't hang around and, with a backwards glance from me, we left, kicking out a small section of the back wall to make a door- of sorts. In the car, Li looked at me, shaken.

'Well that was exciting,' she said.

I started the car, unable to ignore my trembling hands gripping the steering wheel a lot harder than usual. 'That's my thrill quota for the day used up. Yours too,' I added as an afterthought.

'Why?'

I gave her a cheeky grin and batted my eyelashes. 'You have a date with the _gorgeous_ Riley West tonight,' I reminded her.

She did an amazing impersonation of Roberts, groaning and muttering incoherently. I held back a laugh, wondering how many insinuating jokes I could make before she hurt me.

I'd get away with a couple. At least.


	22. Chapter Twenty One

**Chapter Twenty One**

_**Li**_

**

* * *

**

Amber seemed to be the only one looking forward to my date with West that evening. She fussed about and I grudgingly let her attack me with various makeup and hair care paraphernalia. Hex was hunched over his palmtop in the corner of the room, pretending not to laugh. I gave him an evil glare and he ducked his head lower, trying to hide his smirk behind his tiny computer.

'Leave her alone, Hex,' Amber said sharply as she looked up and caught him laughing. He stopped so suddenly he almost choked and, trying to look as though he'd just remembered he had to be somewhere important, stood up.

'I'll just go check the bug,' he announced and swept out of the room.

'That's the... sixth time in half an hour, isn't it?' Amber muttered around half a dozen bobby pins.

I consulted my watch. 'Twenty five minutes.'

'Even worse.'

'What exactly are you doing with my hair anyway?' I asked a few minutes later. Amber didn't respond and I grimaced, sinking lower in my chair. There was an annoyed hiss from Amber; she yanked me up again and then returned her attention to my hair.

Hex slunk back into the room with a, 'Bug's fine,' and another snigger or two. He refused to look at me so my expression- a mixture of contempt and annoyance- was wasted.

'So what am I aiming to find out tonight?' I asked when it became clear that Amber wasn't going to reveal what she was doing to my hair and Hex wasn't going to stop chortling.

Amber yanked on my hair while Hex clacked at his keyboard, finally saying, 'Anything you can.'

'Helpful,' I muttered. 'Could you be slightly more specific?'

'Not really. _Anything_ you get could help.'

'And what if I can't get any info?'

Hex shrugged. 'Then you don't get any info. Not a lot we can do about it, Li. Just try to remember it's early days yet, so we're not expecting a whole lot anyway.'

Fifteen minutes later Amber had finished moulding my hair, the tiny bug had been fitted on the neck of my dress and I was standing, grim faced, in the lounge room.

'Try and look a bit happier,' Amber said with a frown. 'He's not _that_ bad, surely.'

'We can always trade places if you want.'

'Keen to sit in the van, Li? But it's so dull and boring,' Hex cut in. He and Amber exchanged a look which I, unfortunately, didn't manage to interpret until the next sentence had flown out of my mouth.

'I'd much rather be in the van than in a restaurant, forced to make casual conversation with-'

Their grins doubled and, before I could say anything else, Amber turned to Hex and said, 'Could her eagerness to sit in the van for hours at a time have anything to do with a certain someone?'

'That was my guess.'

'Knock it off,' I growled. 'Remember what you said about _me_ staying out of _your_ life, Amber? Maybe you should listen to your own advice.'

She pretended to think about my point for a second and then said, 'You didn't listen to me, so why should I?'

'I did so! I stopped teasing.'

Amber gave me a withering look. 'Yeah. Right. You stopped teasing.'

'Oh yeah, Li,' Hex said from the corner. 'Paulo told me about you and your comments. Technically Amber has the right to tease you. An eye for an eye.'

'Makes the whole world blind,' I said, ignoring his amused expression. 'You know I actually preferred it when the two of you were oblivious and at each other's throats. Now you just gang up on me.'

'Gotta have a hobby, Li,' Amber said. She started to pile the various bottles and containers spread out across the coffee table back into the box they'd come from. 'Give me hand with these, will you?'

Together we packed up and took the boxes back to the bathroom. As Amber shoved them in the cabinet under the sink, she made a face and said, 'Sorry.'

'What for?'

She took the final box from my hands and put it away. 'You're right. We do gang up on you. And it's your business, not mine, or Hex's. I'll stop teasing.'

I laughed. 'How many times have I heard that?'

'Only a few. But I really mean it this time. I promise, I won't interfere.'

'And Hex?'

'Well, I can't guarantee he won't snigger in a corner, but I'll make sure he keeps his mouth shut. That okay?'

'I guess.'

As we walked out of the bathroom and down the hall to the lounge room, Amber slung an arm around my shoulders. 'But just before I shut up, have you thought about what I said the other day?'

I stifled a groan but answered anyway. 'Kind of.'

'And?' she prompted.

I gave a tight smile and shrugged her arm off. 'Let's just get this mission out of the way. Then we'll see what happens.'

Smiling brightly, Amber skipped over and settled down on the couch. As I sat down in one of the armchairs, Hex entered the room, Paulo and Mara trailing after him.

'We have another volunteer,' Hex told us, flinging out an arm to indicate Mara. 'Mara will be in the restaurant as well. It'll be good to have another pair of eyes and ears in there and-' he looked at me'-back up for you in case something goes wrong.'

I raised an eyebrow. 'You counting on that happening?'

'No, but we didn't count on Hart almost getting assassinated, did we? And that almost happened.'

'So we go all boy scout and "be prepared"?'

He nodded once. 'Exactly.'

Amber's head snapped up; she'd only half been following the conversation and was now clearly confused. 'You were a boy scout?'

'What? No! What on Earth gave you that idea?'

Still looking baffled, Amber shook her head and went back to leafing through a book she'd picked up off the coffee table. Hex sighed and turned back to Mara, Paulo and me.

'We should get going.'

'Hang on,' Mara said quickly. 'Where're Neil and Alex? Are they coming?'

Amber didn't look up from the book as she said, 'Nope. They're at Alex's, going through CCTV footage, I think.'

'CCTV footage of what?'

'Outside the block of offices Hart, Payton and West work at.' With a final glance at whatever she was reading, Amber set the book back down on the table. 'Something for Alex to do,' she added with a note of sadness in her voice. 'Neil's keeping him company.'

'Oh. Okay. Are we going now, then?'

Amber leapt up and grabbed my arm with a wild grin. 'Of course. Wouldn't want Li to be late for her date.'

**

* * *

**

The evening started predictably boring. We ordered and sat in an uncomfortable silence until the drinks arrived.

'So, Elise,' West finally said, setting his glass of wine down. 'How are you enjoying London?'

'It's great. Really lovely. So much to do.'

Fabulous. I was speaking in sentence fragments. West didn't seem to notice or mind, but I gave myself a mental talking to and tried to summon the enthusiasm needed to answer in a more elaborate context for the next question.

'You went to boarding school here, didn't you?'

'Mhmm.' I found the question odd, then realised what he was getting at- if I'd gone to boarding school here for practically my whole life, then why would I be a tourist? 'But I've never really seen London, not properly anyway. My school was out in the country and we only came into the city once a year or so for a field trip or to fly home.'

West's face lost its sceptical expression and he smiled warmly. 'So you're finally seeing the sights?'

'Yeah.' Back to short answers. _Come on, Li. Put a bit more effort in. _No matter how many pep talks I gave myself, I couldn't seem to just relax and enjoy myself. Yes, I was only there to try and get some information off West, but still, Elise was there because she wanted to have dinner with him. And I was meant to be Elise.

Our meals arrived and I started eating half-heartedly. By this stage West had begun to pick up on my odd mood. He set his fork down and frowned worriedly.

'Elise? Is something the matter?'

'I- er-'

From the far corner of the room came the clatter of a dropped tray, saving me from having to make up an excuse for my so called strange behaviour. Mara had shot to her feet and crashed straight into a passing waitress. As I stared at Mara, she glanced up and caught my eye. Her expression was one of pure panic and I found myself breathing faster; what had happened?

Mara stared past me, towards the door. Slowly, nervously, I turned my head and barely managed to stop a gasp escaping. Abigail was coming through the door. I looked back at Mara, but she'd vanished. West, whose attention had been on the chaos following the dropped tray, suddenly turned back to me.

'Elise? Are you sure you're feeling okay?'

Perfect. Getting shakily to my feet and making sure I kept my head down, I mumbled, 'I'm sorry, Riley. I'm not feeling too good. I- I think I better go home.'

Before he could answer, I grabbed my bag and, still focusing on the ground, weaved my way to the back of the restaurant and slipped behind a Japanese print screen. There was a door in front of me, leading out to the side car park; through the top section of glass, I could see the cars, lit by a street lamp, and-

'Hurst,' I hissed as a man got out of his car and started towards the door. 'Crap, crap, crap.'

Wildly I looked around. I could risk leaving through the side door, but I didn't want Hurst seeing me. It certainly couldn't be a coincidence that both he and Abigail had arrived within minutes of each other. They were meeting, I was sure of it, and I had a bad feeling that if Hurst saw my face, the mission would be blown. I went with my gut instinct and shoved open the bathroom door to my left, slipping inside just as Hurst reached the door and pulled it open.

Inside the bathroom I leant against the wall and tried to calm my furiously beating heart. Just a few minutes and I'd be able to go out into the car park, find the van and go home. Simple.

'...made it. Good. I have a few questions for you, actually. About... You know.'

I froze against the wall. Abigail's voice was way too close for comfort. She had to be standing out in the corridor by the screen.

'Yes. He told me all about that.' Hurst's voice?

'We're at table twelve. You go ahead; I've just got to use the bathroom.'

Oh great. Just great. Silently, I crept into a stall, locking the door behind me. The door to the bathroom creaked open and Abigail clacked into the room. She was muttering something under her breath; there was a pause and then the clacking started up again, followed a second later by the soft squeak as she entered one of the stalls.

I had two choices. Make a run for it or- I turned around and noticed a window high on the wall behind me- use an unorthodox exit. I opted for the latter, not only because it seemed less risky but because I felt like a bit of a challenge.

The screen proved easy to remove and I set it, very quietly, on the floor. After taking off my shoes, I stood on the lid of the toilet and dropped them through the window. There was a gentle rustle- some vegetation was no doubt growing right where I'd be landing. I hoped it was a nice soft bush and not something sharp and less user-friendly.

I grabbed the edge of the windowsill and pulled myself up inch by inch, not wanting to make too much noise. My plan involved getting my head and arms through the window, climbing up the brick outer wall, pulling my legs through and then climbing down to the ground. I struggled for a heart stopping moment as, half in and half out of the window, I turned over so I was facing upwards rather than the ground. There was the sound of a toilet flushing, another squeak, and the _clack clack_ of Abigail's shoes on the linoleum.

I jammed my fingers into the tiny spaces between the bricks, pulling my legs up as I did so. I was now sitting on the windowsill, arms stretched up above me. As I pulled myself up, I shifted my legs back further towards me until my feet were resting on the windowsill. Hugging the wall, I moved up the wall further, finally standing up straight, feet on the window ledge, fingers still gripping the bricks.

I felt a familiar rush of excitement as I shuffled my feet across the ledge and started climbing down the wall. Climbing, no matter where it was, always made me feel so alive. It didn't matter that I was working my way down the side of a second rate restaurant in London. I made a mental note to do more leisure climbing and drag Amber along with me. We'd been so busy lately her lessons had been taking a backseat; I'd be nice to go for a climb just because we could.

When I was a foot off the ground I let go and dropped off the wall, landing just beside the bush thankfully- it was a sad looking plant, half dead and with barely enough leaves to cover its spindly twigs. After what felt like hours of searching I managed to locate my shoes, jammed them on my feet and set off to meet Amber, Hex and Paulo in the van. I had no way of knowing where Mara had disappeared to and could only hope she'd managed to get out okay.

As soon as I opened one of the van's back doors, Amber dragged me inside. In the dimly lit interior, I could just make out everyone's worried faces. Mara was sitting beside Paulo, looking incredibly pale.

'Where have you _been_?' Amber hissed. 'Never mind,' she added sharply as I opened my mouth to respond. 'What the hell was Abigail doing there?'

'Meeting Hurst.'

Everyone looked at me.

'Hurst? Parker Hurst?' Paulo asked.

I nodded. 'He came in the side entry not two minutes after Abigail did.'

Amber used her new catchphrase: 'Coincidence.'

'I heard them talking. Abigail said she had some questions to ask him. Hurst said someone had told him all about whatever it was.'

'Luis,' Hex burst out a second later. 'What if it was about him? Abigail organised to have him killed because this head guy asked. Hurst is a go between for the two of them- safer to send out someone less important to discuss things.'

'Maybe...' Amber sounded sceptical. 'But-'

'No,' Hex cut her off, which made Amber scowl. 'Think about it. It makes sense, doesn't it?'

Amber huffed and didn't answer, still miffed about being ignored and talked over. Whether it was out of respect for Amber and her opinion or just because we had no idea, neither Paulo, Mara nor I answered. Whether Abigail was involved or not, her appearance at the restaurant and meeting with Hurst had made things a whole lot more complex. As if things weren't already messed up and confusing, we were now facing the very real prospect that our boss was corrupt and linked to the very people we were investigating. When Alex had put forward the suggestion, I for one had only agreed because, after what Abigail had said about Harry, I wanted to find some way for her to pay, some way for her to be caught up in it all. I hadn't really believed it. Now... I had no idea what to believe, what to think. It really was a mess.


	23. Chapter Twenty Two

**Chapter Twenty Two**

_**Alex**_

**

* * *

**

Time really does drag when you're going through tape after tape of CCTV footage.

For over an hour I'd been sitting at my desk, closely watching the tapes Hex had "found" and recording anything significant. So far, my paper was blank. When Amber had told me about trawling through the CCTV footage, I'd been less than thrilled, despite the fact that it was a sure fire way to occupy my time. My immediate impression was that she was trying to find a way that I could be useful while everyone else was out helping with the surveillance - the actual important work. Heck, even Mara had thrown herself into the task at hand, offering to go into the restaurant as a second pair of eyes and ears.

I felt so pathetic. Weak.

Angrily I pushed the mouse to one side, the little arrow on the screen jerking to the top of the page. My eyes followed the movement automatically, coming to rest on a figure walking down the street, growing steadily larger and more in focus the closer they came to the camera. As they reached the doors of the office blocks, they half turned, as though double checking something- paranoid about being tailed perhaps- before disappearing inside. I replayed that section of the footage, leaning closer to the screen as the person turned. There was something almost familiar about them. The third time I watched it, I slowed the tape down, hitting pause just as the person's face came into focus.

'No way,' I breathed, not quite believing what I was seeing. It couldn't be. Impossible.

Frantically, I moved the various papers about on my desk, searching for the photograph I knew was there- somewhere. Neil, perhaps alerted by the loud rustling, came into the room and asked what I was looking for. I didn't answer because, at that moment, I found the photograph.

Holding the photo up to the screen, the resemblance was uncanny. Sure, there were a few differences, but there was absolutely no doubt that the person on the CCTV footage, the person entering the building that Hart worked at, was none other than Gerard Helton.

'Holy crap.' Neil leaned over my shoulder, intent on the two images. He looked from them to me, shocked. 'Is that-'

'-the guy who invented that lens and is meant to be dead?' I finished. An almost exasperated laugh escaped me. 'Sure is.'

**

* * *

**

Less than twenty minutes later, my lounge room was crowded. Neil, Mara and Amber were squashed onto the couch, Hex hovering behind. Paulo was sitting in the sole armchair, Li perched on the armrest, a fact which seemed to amuse both Amber and Hex greatly; Li looked like she was ready to kill them, especially Amber, though Paulo was blissfully unaware of their insinuating glances and whispered comments.

'We have some news,' Mara said, saving the immature duo from a slow and painful death.

'So do we.' Neil stood up and came across to where I was standing by the desk. He plucked the photo of Helton up and passed it to Mara. She studied it, then shrugged.

'So what? I don't get it.'

'Just take a good, long look at his face,' Neil told her, reaching around to pick up the laptop. He set it down on the coffee table, so everyone could see the screen, and hit play. I watched my friends' faces, rather than the screen.

Hex was the only one who picked up on Helton's entrance.

'What the hell is he doing there?' he said in disbelief while everyone else looked blank.

'Huh?' Amber's eyebrows drew together in a confused frown. 'Who's where?'

Jabbing a finger at the frozen figure on screen, Hex said, 'Helton.'

'But he's dead,' Li reminded us.

'Apparently not.' Like me, Hex gave a laugh that was void of humour, filled with frustration. 'Can this get any more complicated? Now we've got Helton alive and kicking, a possible way for Hart- or whoever he's working for,' he corrected as Amber opened her mouth to butt in,' to get the lens or have it already and bloody Abigail-'

'Abigail?' I asked, my eyes flicking between my friends and finally settling on Li. 'What happened?'

'She was there, in the restaurant. Meeting with Parker Hurst.'

A mixture of elation, anger and- to my surprise- fear coursed through me. 'So she's a part of this then?'

'Could be a coincidence,' Amber said quickly, but then dismissed her own suggestion with an added, 'Can't be, though, can it? Abigail where Luis was found murdered, then her meeting Hurst to discuss something...' She shook her head. 'You're right, Alex. She's involved.'

We fell silent as the realisation hit home. Our boss was corrupt, helping the very group of people we were investigating. Paulo's thoughts must have been running parallel to mine because, a minute later he broke the silence by saying, 'What do we do?'

'We can't exactly march up to her and say anything,' Hex said, though he looked like he really wished he could.

'So what do we do?' Paulo repeated.

It was Amber who came up with the master plan. 'We don't do anything. We leave it alone. We say nothing- not to her, not to anyone else. We keep working at this case, keep collecting evidence and then, when it's all wrapped up in a nice little bundle, we sort her out.'

Everyone nodded, taking that "sort her out" meant go to the highest possible authority, present our evidence and let Abigail get exactly what she deserved.

'I wonder how long this has been going on,' Neil said softly. 'If she's been bent from the moment she walked into the Secret Service, she could have botched up any number of investigations.'

'Never thought of that,' Li murmured, slightly startled. 'How long's she been with MI5? She's in her forties, right?'

'Something like that,' Mara said. 'If she joined when she was our age, then that's at least twenty years...' She left the thought hanging and looked around at us, her face clouded with anger. 'What a bitch.'

**

* * *

**

After making feeble excuses and shepherding my friends out of my flat, I drove to my therapy session, feeling less than optimistic. I wasn't in the mood to be psychoanalysed.

I arrived fifteen minutes late, but Simons didn't seem to notice.

'Come on in,' he said cheerily. 'Sit yourself down. Would you care for an herbal tea?'

'Er... No thanks, I'm fine.'

Gingerly, I sat down in the chair Simons had gestured to. He sat in a second chair across from me and smiled warmly.

'So, Alex,' he began, 'what brings you here tonight? What has occurred in your life that has resulted in this moment?'

'This moment?'

'Why do you think you need therapy?'

I shrugged. 'Everyone else seems to think I do.'

'But do you, Alex? Do you believe that your mind is in an unstable state these days?'

I hesitated, not used to answering questions. Normally Karla would just tell me to "talk, let the words flow". I usually just stayed silent and then she'd get frustrated, let me know that she was trying to help me and I was doing myself no favours, then hand me a bill.

'I'm not sure,' I said slowly.

'Think, Alex. _Really _think.'

'I honestly don't know.'

Simons, not in the least bit put out, leant back in his chair and tried a different approach. 'Okay then. That's fine. Now Mara has told me a little bit about you, said you'd had a traumatic experience and were harbouring some guilt, but I don't have all the facts.'

_Here we go_, I thought bitterly. _Get ready for the old _so tell me about yourself_ prompt_. I mentally braced myself.

'Do you wish to talk about it?'

I blinked. What sort of therapist asked if you wanted to talk about something? What happened to just assuming you did, that you wanted to continually relive every horrible moment?

'Do I- Do I want to talk about what happened?'

He nodded. 'Mara does strike me as quite stubborn and, I suppose, pushy. It seemed to me that far from simply recommending me, she may have insisted that you make an appointment. Am I correct?'

'I guess so. She sort of... talked me into it.'

Simons laughed. I relaxed slightly, sitting further back in the chair so I wasn't completely on the edge.

'Well then. I understand if you don't want to continue with this session.'

Amazingly and for a reason which, at that moment, I couldn't grasp, I said, 'It's okay.'

'So you want to keep talking?'

'I guess so.'

'Very brave of you, Alex. The past can be difficult to discuss. Now, from what Mara told me it seems that you may have lost someone quite close to you. Correct?'

'Yeah. He- He was a really good friend.'

'And you feel responsible for his death?'

A lump stuck in my throat. 'Yeah.'

'Were you there, when your friend died?'

I gave a tiny nod.

'And perhaps you feel this guilt because you _were_ there and yet he still died. Is that correct, Alex?'

For a long moment I didn't answer. Simons didn't press the point, just waited patiently while I sorted through my thoughts. Then, for the first time in front of anyone other than my friends, I found myself fully explaining what had happened, what it had felt like to be there when Harry had died.

'He was murdered. Shot. He was the closest one to the second gun, so I told him to try and reach it. Then- Then Price reappeared and... He killed Harry. Shot him straight in the chest. If I hadn't have said anything, we'd have both gotten out okay. Everything would still be the same.'

'Not all change is bad, Alex.'

'I know,' I said, looking down at the ground. 'But everything that's happened since Harry died has been bad change after bad change. Where's the positives in finding out your new boss hates your guts, getting fired, having your girlfriend walk out on you? Heck, where's the positive in watching a friend die and knowing you can't do anything to save them?'

Thankfully, Simons didn't say, "I understand".

'I know it can seem that you're constantly being handed lemons, Alex, and maybe you're sick of trying to make lemonade, but look closer at the situation. Find one positive.'

I thought- really hard. What had been a positive of the last ten or so months?

'I suppose,' I said with a sudden smirk, 'that two of my best friends admitting they've fancied each other since we were fourteen could be a positive. They're not as frustrating to be around, now, and I don't have to constantly point out to Hex how obvious it is that he's got a soft spot for Amber.'

'Excellent,' Simons said with a grin. 'See? A positive. Exactly. There's sure to be more if you look hard enough. That's the thing you must start to practice, Alex. Searching for the positives and releasing the negatives. You must only hold onto the past if you feel it is a worthy memory.'

'How, though? I mean, it's not like I enjoy feeling like shit all the time.'

With a soft clap of his hands, Simons said, 'Only you can answer that one. I'm not here to tell you how to release the guilt and start feeling normal again. I'm here to simply be a wall, a person to bounce ideas off.'

'Right... But what should I do?'

Simons chuckled and shrugged. 'Honestly, I don't really know. I've never been in your situation before.'

'What about Mara?' I asked. 'What did you recommend she do?'

'Well, like you, Mara's feeling guilty over a death she felt she could have prevented. The difference between the two of you is not only how long ago they happened but that you lost a good friend. Mara didn't know the girl who committed suicide.' Simons seemed to be thinking; his brow furrowed and his mouth moved silently. Finally he added, 'But I suppose you could use a similar approach. I advised Mara to confront what had happened instead of trying to ignore it; I told her that visiting the grave of the girl and perhaps her family could help her realise that she was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, that the girl's death wasn't because of her.'

'So I should do the same thing?' I asked with growing sense of dread. The only person who could be classed as family would be Nancy and I didn't want to see her. Before she'd left MI5 just over eight months ago she'd been a miserable, emotional wreck. Whenever she caught sight of me the blaming started, the almost shouted accusations that I was just as bad as Price, that it should have been me, not Harry, who'd been shot. I couldn't deal with that again.

'Not necessarily,' Simons answered hesitantly. 'This may seem a little unorthodox, but do you have any way to get in contact with- Are you able to talk to the person who is responsible for your friend's death?'

A cold, numb feeling slowly engulfed me. Talk to Price. No. Never in a million years.

'I know it may seem strange, but I really do think that confronting what happened, by talking to the person who is _actually_ responsible for his death, it may help you to come to terms with what's happened. It may make you realise that you're not to blame.'

Once again, my mouth reacted before my brain could get a grip on the situation. 'I might just try that.'

It wasn't until I left ten minutes later did the actual reality of what I was planning on doing hit me: I was going to see Price. The scary thing was I had absolutely no idea how I was going to react.


	24. Chapter Twenty Three

**Chapter Twenty Three**

**_Paulo_**

**

* * *

**I was woken early by the shrill and persistent ringing of the phone. After disentangling myself from the sheets I swung my legs out of bed and bolted for the lounge room, snatching up the phone and landing on the couch.

'Hello?' I said, slightly breathless.

'Good morning, Enrico. It's Lucas. Sorry for the early call.'

I sat up a bit straighter. 'Don't be. I was just getting up anyway. What can I do for you?'

'Well...' There was a pause and a sudden scraping sound, like a chair being moved backwards, followed by some brief muttering. 'Are you still looking for a business to invest in?'

'Yes,' I said, trying to sound tired and weary instead of completely ecstatic.

'Excellent. Would you mind joining me for breakfast this morning? We can have a chat and perhaps discuss a... partnership, I suppose you'd call it. Yes. A partnership.'

'Sounds great. What time?'

I scribbled the details down on a half finished Sudoku puzzle Li had started last time she was over. She'd gotten bored halfway through and so the poor square had been abandoned beside a leaky biro, leaving Li free to raid my kitchen cupboards and bake what she'd claimed to be a chocolate cake, but had born a closer resemblance to a brick.

As soon as the call ended I punched in Neil's number and waited for him to pick up. Amber, Mara and Hex were out of the question, with none of them holding any fondness for early starts. Li would have been my first choice anyway, but she would have been recognised as Elise in an instant. I still wasn't sure what Alex's position on the whole situation was now, so the thought of calling him barely crossed my mind.

Neil picked up on the third ring.

'Hey!' I greeted him cheerily. 'Fancy a spot of breakie? Hart wants to talk to me about investing in his company, so I was just wondering if you wanted to listen in.'

'Sure. I haven't got any food in the house anyway, so that'd be perfect. When are you meeting him?'

I consulted my blotchy notes, having to squint in order to see what I'd written. 'Er... Half an hour. That cafe by the park, next to the dry cleaners.'

'Okay. No problem. I'll be there. Good luck!'

It wasn't until I hung up did I start to wonder how Hart had gotten my phone number.

**

* * *

**

My immediate thought was to just dismiss such an apparently trivial detail from my mind, but how Hart had managed to find my phone number bothered me all the way to the cafe. He couldn't have just looked it up in the phone book, unless- I gulped. Unless he had searched for my actual name. But then why had he still invited me to breakfast, and to discuss his "business" no less? The word "trap" in huge, flashing letters floated into my mind; I tried to come up with another reasonable explanation, failed, and just decided to be ultra cautious. What else could I do?

As I entered the cafe and spotted Hart at a booth right at the back, another thought occurred to me: Hart was offering me a partnership surprisingly quickly considering he'd just met me. _You saved his life_, a little voice reminded me sternly, sounding exactly like Amber, but the new worry still lingered. The flashing letters sprung up and started dancing around my head. High pitched warning tones sounded. I started to develop a headache.

The bell on the shop door tinkled cheerfully; out of the corner of my eye I saw Neil wander inside. He looked around and then pushed past me, heading for a table close enough to Hart that he'd be able to hear what was being said, but not so close he'd look suspicious. All opportunities to back out evaporated as Hart's head bobbed up; he glanced briefly at Neil, sitting down and picking up a menu by this stage, and then saw me. He waved me over. I tried to inject some spring into my step but just felt like an idiot- with a limp. _Come on, Paulo,_ I chided myself. _There could be a perfectly simple explanation for all of this. You keep acting like some social reject and you'll _definitely_ blow the mission. Just relax. _

'Morning, Lucas,' I said, sliding into the booth, facing him.

Hart folded the newspaper he'd been reading in half and placed it to one side. 'Good morning. I assume you haven't eaten yet?'

I nodded and he slid the menu towards me. My stomach was churning so I declined the full English breakfast and ordered some sort of Danish pastry and coffee. The waitress jotted it down and stomped off, frowning fiercely.

'I believe it's best to discuss business on a full stomach and once wide awake,' Hart explained a few minutes later when the silence stretched. He pushed the newspaper towards me and slid out of the booth. 'Excuse me for a moment, Enrico.'

As he disappeared I unfolded the newspaper, my mind elsewhere. I flipped through the pages, nothing much catching my attention. Some part of me registered the fact that the crossword had been half done- and not very well if the jumble of scribbled letters was anything to go by- but I didn't promptly forgot about it. My breakfast arrived so I dropped the paper back onto the table.

Hart came back just as I finished my pastry.

'Anything interesting in the paper?' he asked, sitting down.

I paused, the coffee cup halfway to my lips. 'Er... No. Not really.'

'Right.' Hart seemed marginally disappointed, but the expression quickly disappeared and I thought no more about it. 'Now,' he added, lowering his voice slightly, 'I have a bit of a confession to make.'

'Oh?'

'Yes. I have a second, sideline investment in a smaller company; it's not in any way connected to HPW Industries, except for the fact that Riley, Alistair and myself have money in it. The owner of this small company heard you were wanting to make an investment and has extended the offer to back his project. If you want. You are most certainly under no obligations to agree.'

The way Hart was speaking had me on guard- it sounded... scripted, almost- but I wasn't going to back down. Not until I had more information.

'Do I get to know what this "small company" is about?' I asked lightly.

Hart shook his head. 'Not right now. In fact... We may have to show you.'

'Right...'

'Come to dinner at my house. Tonight. If you meet me at The Fallows I can give you a lift out there myself. Most of the investors in this... small company... will be there- you've already met them, but this time we'll just discuss business. We could even show you what the company is working on. Perhaps.' Hart looked at me carefully, as though measuring my response. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed, bewildered, completely out of my depth, but tried to keep all those off my face.

'Wow... Um... Yeah... Sure.'

Goooood job, Paulo. I mentally slapped myself. I sounded about as confused as I felt and I knew that my face wasn't doing a good job of hiding it either. Not for the first time I wished I had a killer poker face like Hex; even a passable neutral expression could have made so many messy situations that much easier to deal with.

To my complete surprise, Hart didn't seem to pick up on anything, or, if he did, he was a lot better at hiding it than I was.

'That's settled then. Come to The Fallows at six o'clock tonight. We'll head out to my place and talk about a partnership. See you then.'

Hart swept out of the cafe and I exchanged a wide-eyed "what the hell just happened?" look with Neil; he jerked his head to the door so I got up, paid for my breakfast and left, walking quickly across to the park. Neil joined me a few minutes later, keeping behind me just in case we were being watched.

'What the heck?' Neil muttered as he came closer.

'I've got a really bad feeling about this. Something's not right.'

Neil stopped, hands in coat pockets, pretending to study a small sapling growing beside the path. 'So are you going?'

'Yeah, of course.' I scoffed. 'Who doesn't love a bit of potential danger?'

Chuckling, Neil abandoned our cautious discussion and turned to face me. 'You've been hanging around Li too much. Amber's right: she's a bad influence.'

I returned the grin. 'Well she can't exactly talk, can she?' I said, turning to continue down the path. 'We better go give our fearless leaders the good news. Let's leave out the suspect bits, okay? No point worrying them. We're probably just being paranoid.'

'Yeah,' Neil agreed, though he didn't sound completely certain. 'Paranoid. That's it.'


	25. Chapter Twenty Four

**Chapter Twenty Four**

_**Hex**_

**

* * *

**

The phone dropped onto the bench beside me with a dull _thunk_. I looked up and saw Amber standing there, her face drawn and eyes worried.

'Alex isn't answering his phone. Li went round to his flat; it's empty, bed hasn't been slept in.'

'Maybe he's popped out.'

'Did you listen to a word I just said?' Amber snapped. 'He hasn't been there all night, Hex. Where the hell is he?' She snatched for the phone, went to punch in Alex's number, then stopped and threw the phone back onto the bench. 'You don't think- He wouldn't have- Alex wouldn't do anything stupid, would he?'

I raised my eyebrows slightly. 'Not counting failing to report his whereabouts and general state of mind to you every hour?'

'I'm serious, Hex,' she said tersely. 'You know how he's been lately.'

'Yeah. I do. And I also know how he wants to be treated: like normal. You- and Li, I suppose- obsessing over his every move isn't going to help him.'

'We're not _obsessing_.' She reached for the phone again, but I pulled it towards me before she could latch onto it.

'Amber...' I waited for her to look at me before continuing: 'Let him be. He might just need a bit of space.'

'_All night_?'

I shrugged and slid the phone across the bench, as far away from Amber as possible. For a moment she looked as though she was going to punch me and grab for the phone again, then she sighed and slumped onto the stool beside me.

'I can't help worrying about him.'

'I know. You care. That's fine. It's when you care to the point of smothering him that it becomes a problem. Just give him some breathing room.' I gave her a one armed hug, then got to my feet. 'I need to head into work for a bit, okay? I'll be back later. _Don't _touch the phone.'

'What if it rings?' she called after me as I made a beeline for the front door.

'Not even then. Let the answering machine get it. I mean it, Amber,' I said, half stern and serious, half joking. 'Worrying won't do anything. He'll come round when he's ready.'

Sensing the beginning of an argument, I shut the door before she could get another word in.

**

* * *

**

Maggie Walker greeted me almost as soon as I walked through the doors at work.

'Hex!' she said with a smile. 'How're you? Haven't seen you around lately- or the others for that matter. Everything okay?'

'I'm fine, thanks, Maggie. We're all fine. Just our wonderful new boss is getting... well, she's getting on our nerves a bit.'

Maggie made a face and gestured that I should walk with her. We headed towards the lifts as she said, 'Tell me about it. She loves bossing me around. Anyone would think I had no qualifications whatsoever, the way she treats me. At least Harry recognised I was an actual officer, not just some stupid secretary.' She thumbed the button for the elevator and stood beside me as we waited for it to arrive. 'And poor Alex. After everything that's happened she goes and attacks him like that. It's not right.'

'I know,' I said with a sigh. 'He's been in a bad way lately as well.' I didn't elaborate- I would have trusted Maggie with anything without a second's thought, but given that she had to work so closely with Abigail, I didn't want to say too much.

She shook her head sadly as the lift doors opened with a gentle _ping_. We waited for a handful of people to exit before stepping inside. At the last second, just before the doors shut, Ava Phillips and Carlos Lacey slipped in beside us.

'Hey, Hex!' Ava said brightly. 'Maggie.'

We murmured our greetings and rode up to the third floor. Maggie left, giving us all reassuring smiles as she did, and Carlos, Ava and I continued to the seventh floor. Carlos started to walk down the long hallway, realised Ava wasn't following, and asked her, 'Are you coming?'

She looked from him to me. 'Give me a minute. I'll catch you up.' Ava waited until Carlos had disappeared around the corner before saying in a low voice, 'Anything I can do to help?'

'Help with what?'

'Anything.' With a knowing look, Ava added, 'I know you lot are up to something. Something Abigail would be less than pleased about...'

'Are you blackmailing me?' I asked, genuinely worried.

Ava laughed. 'No! Far from it. I'm just saying if you need any help with anything at all- background checks, surveillance... Abigail's keeping tabs on you, so be careful.' I must have still looked confused because she sighed. 'What I mean is if there's any information you guys need from here-' she indicated the surrounding hallway '-I can help get it. If you want. No pressure.'

'Thanks, Ava. I'll keep that in mind.'

I waited until she hurried up the hallway to find Carlos before hopping back in the lift and heading up to the top story- Abigail's domain. Very cautiously I edged out of the lift, making sure no one was in the hallway. The coast was clear so I continued on my way, tensed and ready to make a quick excuse should anyone stop me; to be honest I wasn't exactly sure why I'd even bothered to come into work, but I think some insane, illogical part of me was under the impression Abigail's office would be abandoned, unlocked and full of incriminating documents. Another part of me wanted to confront her and demand she tell us everything she knew. No such luck.

As I neared Abigail's office, I heard murmured voices. Intrigued, I stopped to listen, hugging the wall and staying as quiet as possible.

'I'm sorry,' Abigail was saying, though she hardly sounded apologetic. 'I don't see what else I can do.'

'You could have tried to intervene. I thought you had some sort of authority here.'

'I do, but I don't keep tabs on every single officer,' Abigail said, annoyed.

Her companion, who sounded like a woman or a very feminine man, appeared to be just as pissed off. 'Well maybe you should, Abi. Or perhaps you're forgetting what's at stake here- _who's _at stake here.' There was a pause and then the woman spoke again. 'Is there anything else you want to tell me?'

'No.'

'Are you sure?'

'Yes, Ella. I'm sure. That's all he needs to know.'

'Needs? What about should know?'

There was a pause and then: 'I can't say anything else.'

'I knew it,' Ella said with a bark of laughter. 'Oh just fantastic. He'll love that.'

'El, please.' Abigail sounded desperate, pleading, and I blinked in surprise. 'You of all people should know what I'm talking about.'

'I thought you wanted nothing more to do with him.'

'I don't, but...'

Once again, there was a long pause before Ella said, her voice soft, 'I know. Look, if my brother finds out-'

'-he'll kill him.'

'Not necessarily, but if he finds out _you _knew and didn't tell him, then both of you are in danger. No matter how close you are, he won't show any mercy. I speak from experience, Abi. Trust me on that.'

'So what do you propose I do?'

'Tell him. Before he finds out from someone else. He'll appreciate that and might be a bit more... lenient. But for God's sake, Abigail, if you don't say anything and he finds out you've known all this time...'

Soft footsteps replaced words and I looked around, horrified, knowing the two women were making their way to the door of Abigail's office and I was fully visible in the hallway. Across the hall was a broom closet; I bounded towards it and turned the handle.

It was locked.

'Who in their right mind locks a frickin' broom closet?' I hissed, giving the handle one final shake. It didn't budge and I abandoned that option, deciding instead to race down the hallway and dive into an office. I shut the door, hoping no one was occupying the room, and listened as the voices grew louder, then fainter as Abigail and Ella passed by.

Waiting for an extra few minutes, just to be sure that they had gone, I leant against the door, wondering what Abigail and her companion- Ella- had been talking about and why a broom closest was locked.

I found out the answer to the second question not five minutes later.

After picking the lock of the broom closet, I flicked the light on and shut myself inside. The room was small, but not a single cleaning product cluttered the space. What _was_ inside, however, confused me: filing cabinets, four of them, lined up beside each other along the back wall. The first three cabinets were locked, but the fourth slid open easily when I pulled on the drawer. Inside was a single file- a few dozen pages slipped into a beige folder. Slowly, I pulled the file out, noticing the name scrawled in the top right hand corner of the folder.

_Gerard Helton._


	26. Chapter Twenty Five

**Chapter Twenty Five**

_**Alex**_

**

* * *

**

It was edging towards ten o'clock at night by the time I pulled up in the loading bay of the industrial lot. After my chat with Simons, I'd headed to the pub to mull his suggestions over. It hadn't taken me long to realise that I wanted to go and visit Price as soon as possible. Amber had mentioned something about Price skulking about the lot so I figured it was the best place to start looking for him.

As I walked around to the central car park of the lot, I couldn't help feeling as though I was being watched. In the centre of the bitumen square I stopped.

'Price?' I called. There was no answer, but, somewhere to my right, there was a slight noise that I couldn't place. 'Don't be such a bloody coward.'

'I'm not.'

Slowly, carefully, Price edged out of one of the warehouses. His face was drawn and pale; death warmed up. I expected a rush of hatred to surge through me, but... Nothing.

'It's Alex, right?' he said. 'Or are we using last names?'

I leapt towards him and shoved him backwards, pushing him so hard he fell over, landing on the bitumen without a murmur. Standing over him, I glowered down.

'You're a bloody bastard, you know that, don't you? All the _shit_ you've dealt out. Ever since Amber went undercover, ever since she met you, our lives have been spiralling downhill.'

Price looked thoughtful. 'Really? It's just that, last time I checked, it was only your life that was screwed up. So maybe it's not me.'

'Oh no,' I said, aiming a swift quick at his side. 'It's you alright. You-' I let out a bark of laughter '-are the reason why I have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress. Why I've had to endure various therapists telling me to "let it all out". Why I was so out of it that my girlfriend got sick of me and left. Why I almost lost my best friends. Why I've been fired. It's all you, Jasper Price, and if you can't see that then maybe you're the one that needs therapy, not me. You killed my boss and destroyed my life and I bloody hate you for it.'

'You think your life's stuffed- I'm meant to be serving a life sentence.'

'And why's that, Price?' I asked, faking confusion, my tone patronising. 'Maybe because you're a drug dealing murderer? Just taking a wild guess here. Feel free to correct me.'

I took several steps back and Price clambered to his feet, wincing. His fingers fluttered to his side, where I'd kicked him, but then his hand dropped back to hang beside his leg again.

'What're you doing here?'

'I think you know.'

Price shrugged. 'Well I'm thinking you want to attack me, but then again, what's new about that? Come to think of it, though, it's a nice change- the last few visitors I've had have been blaming me for various problems, none of which were my fault, may I add.'

'I want you to say it.'

'Say what?'

'That you did it,' I hissed. 'That you killed Harry Field and that you're sorry and that you're going to rot in prison for a very, very long time.'

Price just stood there, staring at me, his expression blank.

'Say it!' I shouted. 'You know it's bloody well true, so just _say it_. Or are you too scared, because by saying it out loud, by admitting it to me, you admit it to yourself. And you can't deal with that, can you? You're not as tough as you'd like people to think.'

'No,' Price finally said, voice barely a whisper. 'I'm not. And your boss' death was-'

'-one hundred per cent your fault. _Say it._'

'No.' For the first time, Price dropped his head and stared at the ground. 'I can't.'

I lost my temper and leapt towards him again, catching him off guard with a punch to his side, the same one I'd kicked. His head snapped up and he tottered a few steps backward, but that was as far as his reaction went; I flung another punch at his jaw, catching him squarely on the left side. Once again, the only recognition he gave was a slight wince.

'Say it,' I said, my voice no longer angry, more desperate. 'Say you did it. Say you're sorry.'

For an age we faced each other, both panting slightly, neither wanting to back down. I felt the rage that had coursed through me slowly receded; to my utter disgust, I felt guilty for attacking Price. I quickly pushed the feeling away. Then, slowly, Price nodded.

'Alright. I did it.'

I cleared my throat pointedly.

'I killed your boss- Harry Field. It was an accident-'

'No. It wasn't. You aimed the gun at him, you pulled the trigger, you made the decision. It wasn't an accident.'

'Okay. Fine.' He took a deep breath. 'I killed Harry Field; I made the decision, it's my fault he's dead. But I can't say how sorry I am, because... They're just words, aren't they, and they'll never be able to make you, or anyone, understand how... sick, I feel at the fact I shot an innocent person. He wasn't the first person I killed, but he was the first one who I lashed out at just... just because, for one _stupid _second I lost control. One second and I ended someone's life, someone who shouldn't have even been there, in that car park. "I'm sorry" just doesn't convey all that; it's not going to make everything okay again, it's not going to make anyone feel better, it's not going to undo the horrible mistake I made. But I am... Alex. I'm so, _so_ sorry. If I could redo that whole night, I would. In a second, I'd do anything other than shoot your boss. I swear. I got no satisfaction in killing him. The opposite. Why do you think I look like this?' He gestured to himself, taking in his skinny frame, sunken eyes, haunted expression. 'I hate living with the guilt, too.'

'That may be, but in your case the guilt's rightly deserved. I've spent the last ten months blaming myself for Harry's death- not because I killed him, but because I couldn't do anything to save him. You refused to take responsibility- claimed it was an accident. Someone needs to shoulder the blame, the weight, of Harry's death, and there were only the two of us there. So, when you took the coward's way out, it was left up to me.'

Price's lips twitched into the ghost of a sad smile. 'Well consider the weight lifted from your shoulders. You're right; it's my fault.'

'Amber says you're more use to us out than in a prison at the moment, but as soon as this mission has finished, as soon as you're not needed any longer, you're going back inside. For a long time. It's not enough to just say, "Yeah. I did it. I'm sorry". No matter how much you mean it. It doesn't work like that. You're going to suffer the consequences. I'll make sure of it. So,' I said, my voice firm, borderline threatening, 'don't think about skipping the country. And I will find out if you do. It'll be better for everyone if you just hand yourself in and go quietly. Understand?'

Price nodded. 'I understand.'

'Good.'

I turned, leaving abruptly, but feeling as empty as I had on my arrival. Back in my car, I noticed my phone's screen, lit up and flashing: half a dozen missed calls and just as many text messages, most of them from Li and Amber, wondering where I was. I considered replying, then thought about going home or around to one of their flats and letting them know I was okay, then decided that neither idea appealed to me. I didn't feel like explaining, or making up excuses as to where I'd been. So I didn't go home, didn't let anyone know where I was.

As I drove away, for the first time in a long time, I smiled properly.

**

* * *

**

'Where have you _been_?' Amber demanded as soon as I walked into her and Hex's kitchen the next morning. She glared at me. 'We've been worried sick. Li?' she added, turning to direct her shout at the living room. 'Paulo? Guess who's decided to show up.'

'Alex!' Li tackled me with a hug, Paulo following behind her more slowly. He grinned at me and leant against the kitchen bench.

'So?' Amber was still glaring.

'So, what?' I asked, sitting at the bench.

'So where have you been?'

I shrugged. 'Around, _Mum_. Where's Hex?'

Annoyed, Amber stomped to the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk. She ignored my question and filled the kettle up, muttering under her breath. I turned to Li instead, who was looking rather amused at Amber's attitude.

'He went into work. No idea why.' She lowered her voice, watching Amber out of the corner of her eye. 'She's a bit ticked off at him because he wouldn't take your "disappearance" seriously.'

I made a mental note to thank Hex. 'Right.'

Thawing a bit, Amber asked if anyone else wanted tea. We all nodded, just as the front door banged and Hex came into the kitchen. He looked decidedly shifty, holding something under his jacket. Li and Amber's eyes narrowed in perfect synchronisation.

'What're those?' Amber asked casually, pointing at whatever was peeking out from Hex's jacket. He looked down and tried to pull the side of his jacket further across, but it was too late. Like a gundog, Amber had gotten the scent of something and she wasn't going to let it go.

'Nothing,' Hex insisted, starting to back away.

'No, seriously, Hex. What is that?'

'Yeah, come on,' Li put in, stepping closer to Hex. 'What you got there, buddy?'

Paulo and I exchanged amused glances as Hex shot us a pleading look.

'You're on your own, mate,' Paulo said, laughing.

Somehow, without saying a word, Li and Amber had come up with a cunning plan. Li made a grab for Hex's jacket and, as he twisted away from her, his free hand swiping at her head, Amber pounced. She latched onto his jacket and pulled on the hand holding whatever he was hiding. With a triumphant cry, she scuttled backwards and opened the folder beside the stove. Her eyes widened.

'Oh... my... God.' She stared at Hex in disbelief. 'Did you take these from work?'

Hex didn't answer so Amber strode across the kitchen and shoved the file in his face. He stepped back, looking uncomfortable.

'You did, didn't you?' Amber continued relentlessly. 'And these are the originals, aren't they?'

Frustrated, Amber threw the papers down on the bench. They fluttered about and Hex scrabbled to gather them up.

'So now highly sensitive documents have gone missing from Headquarters and you know who they're going to blame? Us, the verge-of-being-fired officers.' She let out a hysterical laugh. 'And what's even better about this whole thing is that they'll be right! Because you couldn't resist, could you?'

Amber took an aggressive step towards Hex, who backed away, clutching the file to his chest as though that would offer some protection. Unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite effect; if anything, Amber looked madder.

'Why the _hell_ don't you think some things through before just going ahead? Hey? Aren't you meant to be-'

Hex cut in before Amber could get started with a full on rant. 'I don't think anyone's going to miss these papers, Amber.'

'And why not, Mr Wealth-Of-Knowledge?'

Tapping the files, Hex said simply, 'Because they were in a broom closet. A locked broom closet, yes, I'll grant you that, but still, nothing a piece of wire couldn't sort out. No one will know. I promise. If they do, I'll take full responsibility.'

Amber folded her arms, seeming reluctant to let the argument go. 'We'll still be guilty by association. This is _Abigail Newton_ we're talking about. She wants all our heads lined up in a neat little row on her desk. Why would she just settle for your ugly mug when she can send all of us to the cleaners? Hmm?'

'Don't worry, okay. Just bask in the amazing secrets these papers reveal.'

Hex pushed past Amber and spread the papers across the bench. Curiosity got the better of Amber and she sat on the chair beside me, picking up the closest page.

'They've been following Helton since he was "murdered",' Hex explained.

'Who has?' I asked. 'Been following him I mean.'

Hex shrugged, disappointed. 'No idea. Doesn't say. But the fact that I got this from MI5 Headquarters could be a slight hint.'

Looking through the papers, Li's eyes were huge. 'Holy hell. He's been tailed all these years. So did they- MI5, whoever- give Helton a new identity and fake his death?'

'Possibly,' Hex said. 'But why tail him then?'

'Making sure he didn't say something he shouldn't?'

Amber raised an eyebrow. 'So they were going to follow him around for the rest of his life?'

'Maybe.' Hex looked thoughtful. He pushed a few of the papers around on the bench and then paused, mid push. Slowly, he tapped the paper he was touching. 'Or maybe he's a small part of the bigger picture. Maybe... Maybe he's bait. Maybe MI5 are using him as a lure. Maybe he's feeding information to them. Maybe-'

'-Abigail organised the whole thing and is keeping tabs on him for Hart- or his boss,' Amber interrupted.

'Possible,' Hex agreed. 'So- we have half a dozen or so theories as to why Helton isn't in fact six feet under and there was, as Amber put it, highly sensitive documents in a broom closet at Headquarters.' He took a deep breath and smiled grimly. 'I suggest we start doing some surveillance of our own. Until we know why Helton is alive and kicking and what his connections with Abigail and Hart are, if there are any, we're not going to be able to do much else.' Hex turned to me. 'Alex? How would you feel about keeping a close eye on Helton?'

I shrugged. 'Sure. Got to be better than going through hours of CCTV footage.'

'Excellent.' Hex rubbed his hands together gleefully, resembling some insane scientist with his brown hair sticking up all over the place. 'So it's settled then. Alex will watch Helton. We'll keep looking into Hart and whatnot. Li and Paulo will stay undercover. Couldn't be simpler.'


	27. Chapter Twenty Six

**Chapter Twenty Six**

**_Paulo_**

**

* * *

**

'Enrico. It's Lucas. Once again, I must apologise for the early call, but something's... come up. Unfortunately I have had to move our business meeting to tomorrow night instead of this evening. I apologise. If you have any problems with this new time, don't hesitate to phone- leave a message with my secretary and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Should I not hear from you, I will assume this suits and will meet you at The Fallows, seven o'clock, tomorrow night.'

I played the message back again, disappointed. Not having any issues with the new time, I deleted the message and half turned, about to walk into the kitchen and find some breakfast, when the phone rang.

'Hey, Paulo,' Alex said brightly as soon as I picked up. 'What are you doing today?'

'Er... Nothing?'

'Mhmm. Well, since you're doing nothing, I was wondering if you wanted to help me with the surveillance on Helton. I checked with Amber, don't worry,' he added, anticipating my question. 'She said it was fine.'

'Yeah. Sure. Better than sitting around here all day.'

'Great. Will you be ready in a half hour?'

I agreed to be outside my flat in thirty minutes and put the phone back on the hook.

**

* * *

**

'Morning,' Alex greeted me as I pulled open the door to the van and climbed inside.

I stifled a yawn and said, 'Hello. How're you?'

'Great,' Alex said enthusiastically, starting the van again. 'Neil and Mara have managed to track down his home address, so I figured we'd start over there.'

As we drove across to Helton's flat, I watched Alex out of the corner of my eye. He seemed... cheerful, more so than he had in a long, long time. I was thrilled to see him so relaxed and happy, but a bit suspicious at the same time considering how miserable he'd been up until a day ago. Fifteen minutes later we pulled up and parked the van just down the road from the block of flats Helton lived in.

'Flat six A, apparently,' Alex told me as we both stared out the front windscreen towards the building.

'Do we still know he's home?'

Alex nodded. 'Yeah. Mara and Neil were down here last night.'

'Oh,' I said, surprised.

'Yeah. They were out somewhere- Mara didn't say- and caught sight of him, so they tailed him back here and took turns watching the flat. Neil said Helton was looking really edgy, so they figured it'd be best to keep a close eye on him, you know, in case he was going to do a runner.'

I was still wondering as to what Mara and Neil had been doing out together, late at night. 'Are they together? Mara and Neil?'

Alex looked thoughtful and then shrugged. 'No idea. Maybe. If you're curious, I'd ask Amber or Li: they seem to know everything about everyone and their personal lives.' He looked sideways at me, then back to the flats. 'Amber and Hex have apparently been giving Li a bit of a hard time lately.'

'What about?'

'You.'

I raised my eyebrows. 'You don't say?' I said with mock disbelief. 'What a coincidence.'

'Huh?'

'They've been annoying the heck out of me about her.'

Alex laughed. 'They're nothing if not persistent.'

'Tell me about it,' I said, rolling my eyes. 'Ever since they admitted their undying love for each other, they've been obsessed with-'

'-getting you and Li together,' Alex finished with a grin.

'Exactly. Amber's worse than Hex, but he still puts his two cents in. Bloody annoying. He finds it hilarious, of course.'

'I thought you fancied Li.'

'I do,' I said, not seeing any point in denying it. 'And she knows. At least, I think she does... But whether she does or not, having the two of them trying to play matchmaker makes things even more awkward than they already are.'

Nodding knowingly, Alex murmured his sympathies, then suddenly jerked his head in the direction of the flats and started the van. 'That's him.'

I peered at the person emerging from the building and agreed that it was indeed Helton. We waited for him to get in a car parked down the street a bit, then followed him. A few hours later, we met Mara and Neil in a park and swapped over, letting them know where we'd last seen Helton so they could pick up his tail and we could have a break. Late afternoon we started following him again, this time in a different car and with me driving. I had joked we should have put wigs and dark sunglasses on, but Mara quickly put an end to that suggestion by reminding me we weren't in a cheap, straight-to-DVD spy thriller. Our fun brought to a screeching halt, Alex and I found Helton and stuck to him like glue as the afternoon wore on and darkness started to creep up on us.

As night fell, we found ourselves once again outside the block of flats, watching as Helton disappeared inside. We sat in silence for a few minutes, then curiosity got the better of me; I just had to ask, but before I could, Alex solved the mystery for me.

'I went to see Price night before last.'

'Really?' I was surprised; that certainly hadn't been the explanation I'd been waiting for. 'Why?'

Alex shrugged, then smiled suddenly. 'Mara's been seeing this alternate therapist guy, who actually knows what he's doing, believe it or not. She made me make an appointment, I went to see him, and he recommended I confront what had happened- talk to the person who'd actually killed Harry.'

'So you talked to him?'

'Sort of. Well, yeah. I did.' He made a face. 'It's sort of hard to summarise.'

Helton reappeared, dressed in a snazzy suit.

'Where's he off to this fine evening?' I asked to no one in particular.

Alex started the van. 'No idea. Let's find out, shall we?'

**

* * *

**

It turned out that Helton was headed for a nice looking restaurant on the other side of town. He tugged anxiously at his collar and peered through the front window before heading inside. We followed his gaze; I tapped Alex's arm.

'Hart,' I said softly, then noticed the person sitting opposite him, their back to us. 'And a lady friend. Well, well, well. Wonder if she knows what he does for a living.'

'Sells electronics, doesn't he?' Alex said with a smile.

I thought about that for a minute, then corrected myself: 'For a hobby, then.'

Alex gave a little chuckle, then leant back in his seat. 'Do you mind if I just close my eyes for a minute? I'm so tired.' He yawned, demonstrating his point.

'No worries. Go ahead. Don't think this'll be the dinner party of the year anyway. Anything exciting happens, I'll wake you up.' A sudden though occurred to me. 'Hey!' I said, feigning hurt. 'He cancelled our business meeting so he could have dinner with her.'

Alex gave a tiny, tired laugh, his eyes already shut. 'Do you feel unloved?'

'Yes!'

Helton still hadn't made an appearance at the table, but Hart was looking around, a slight frown drawing his eyebrows together. He paused, mid scan of the room, and said something to the woman before getting up and leaving the table. Three minutes later he came back, sat down, and said something to the woman again. He looked annoyed; Helton started to make his shaky way towards Hart's table.

I slapped Alex's arm and he jerked upright, blinking.

'What? What's happened?'

I pointed at where Helton was, then at Hart who was eyeballing our target. 'They're going to have a little chat, I think.'

Alex sighed. 'Pity we can't hear them.'

'Mmm... Where's Hex when you need him?'

'With Amber probably.'

'Then I don't want to know any more.'

Alex snorted. 'Good point. Me neither.'

Helton approached the table, his body temporarily blocking Hart's companion. Hart, facing both us and Helton, stood up, reaching around the table to shake Helton's hand, his expression still frosty. Hart's companion turned her head as well and, for the first time, we got a chance to see her face. Beside me, Alex's face drained of all colour. I looked back at the woman; she seemed familiar, but I couldn't place her until I turned back to Alex and saw his expression again.

'Is that-' I started to ask, but Alex cut me off, his happy mood completely vanished.

'Laura.' He swallowed hard. 'Yeah.'


	28. Chapter Twenty Seven

**Chapter Twenty Seven**

_**Amber**_

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**

'Who wants to hear some bad news?' Paulo asked casually as he re-entered the kitchen, five boxes of pizza balanced in his arms.

'Can it wait until we've eaten? I'm _starving_.' Li seized the boxes from Paulo and deposited them on the table. Mara frisbeed seven paper plates towards her; she caught them and set them down next to the boxes. 'Thanks, Mara.'

'Ah...' Paulo shot a quick glance at Alex, who had sunk back into a quiet, morose mood, and then shrugged. 'Alex?'

'Don't see why they have to know right now. Let's just eat first.'

I ignored the plate Hex was waving at me. 'No. Let's hear it. What's got you both in such a state?'

'It's fine,' Alex insisted, as Hex got bored with trying to get me to take the plate and gave up, setting it very firmly down on the table in front of me. 'We'll tell you after dinner.'

Li paused, halfway through her first bite of Hawaiian pizza. 'Is it something bad?' she asked, obviously having missed Paulo's first comment. Despite the fact that the rest of us had all heard him say "bad news", Paulo tried to skip around that fact.

'Nyaaaah...'

'In English?' Mara said dryly.

Looking uncomfortable, Paulo turned to Alex. 'Is it bad?' he asked hesitantly, to which Alex sighed.

'Fine. If I say it will you all shut up and eat the pizza before it goes cold?'

We all nodded.

'Hart's got a... girlfriend.'

Li dropped her slice of pizza. 'Really?' She turned to me. 'Didn't we all decide that Abigail was the question mark?'

'This woman's involved with_ Hart_,' Neil reminded her. 'Not the head guy.'

'Oh.' Picking up her pizza slice again, Li resumed munching, not bothered in the slightest by this new revelation. I, on the other hand, felt a mixture of annoyance and fatigue; just when we'd thought we were finally getting somewhere...

'Do we have a name?' Hex asked.

Once again, Paulo shot Alex a strange look. There was something funny going on and I, for one, wanted to get to the bottom of it.

'Alright,' I said firmly. 'Spill it. What's the problem?'

'We do have a name,' Paulo said, and for a second I thought he was deliberately ignoring me; I opened my mouth to remind him of my question, but he continued, answering both my question and Hex's: 'Laura Bryant.'

There was a dull _slop _as Li's dinner flopped to her plate for the second time.

'"Laura Bryant" as in "Laura Bryant who up until a couple of weeks ago was dating Alex"?' She stared at Alex, mouth partly open and, thankfully, free of half chewed pizza. 'Serious?'

'Well,' Alex started, his expression and tone deadpan, a feat that I thought only Hex was capable of, 'they were having dinner together so we gathered that something was going on.'

'Weren't you meant to be following Helton?'

Paulo glanced at Hex briefly, then back at the table. 'We were. We did. He went to the restaurant to meet Hart. They know each other alright. I'd say we could safely assume Helton's helping with the machine.'

An uncomfortable pause in the conversation followed. I had a question for Alex, but didn't particularly want to say it. Reluctantly I cleared my throat, having waited for someone else to ask for what seemed like an eternity.

'Ah, Alex...' I started slowly. Everyone looked at me; I shifted in my seat uncomfortably, definitely not envying the position Alex was in at that moment. 'Could... I really don't want to have to ask this, but if there's even a slight possibility-'

'Just say it, Amber,' Alex cut in bluntly.

I coughed again, before continuing: 'Is there any possibility that Laura could have been involved with Hart for longer than a few weeks?'

'You mean is there a chance she was cheating on me with him?'

'Yeah. I suppose you could phrase it like that.'

Alex opened his mouth, frowned, shut it again and then shrugged. 'I'd like to say that no, there's not even the slightest chance of that, but... Given how things were between us the past few months...' He shrugged again. 'Maybe. She might have been. I honestly don't know.'

When the rest of us stayed quiet, lost in thought, Hex stepped in and picked up the discussion.

'So,' he said, 'how do we continue from here?' We blinked in confusion so he elaborated, sighing with over exaggerated impatience. 'I'll say it nice and slow. Since... Laura... is...'

'Get on with it,' I said wearily.

'Since Laura's with Hart now, we have a problem, yes?'

Li nodded slowly, then shook her head. 'Er...'

Hex sighed again, muttered something about "the people I have to put up with" and said, 'If she and Hart stick to each other like Velcro, then Paulo and Li's covers could be compromised. If Laura recognises them...' He looked to Alex for conformation.

'You should be fine,' he said slowly. 'No. You will be.' He sounded more definite. 'Laura's got the worst memory imaginable. She has to make lists for everything, but then she forgets where she's put the lists. You met her... eighteen months ago, was it?'

'We had that lunch together at the end of last year,' Paulo offered, 'but apart from that...'

'She won't remember you, or, if she does, she won't put your names to your faces. You'll both be fine.'

'Great,' Hex said happily. 'One problem solved, another to go. What do we do about Helton?' Not waiting for suggestions from any of us, he added, 'I say we take the direct approach.'

Li was the only one who seemed enthused by this, which was kind of pointless considering that whatever action we _did_ take, she'd be watching from the backseat.

'Good idea, Hex.' She beamed. 'Pay the undead creep a visit. You two know where he lives, yeah?' she said, directing her question to Alex and Paulo, despite the fact that Mara and Neil were the ones who had actually tracked down the information. None of them answered, but that didn't discourage her. 'Sooner the better as well. A couple of us go down and ask him a few questions... We'll have this whole thing wrapped up in a matter of hours.'

'Right. A few hours.' I raised my eyebrows at Li. 'Slight exaggeration, I think. And anyway,' I said to Hex, 'how do you propose we go about getting Helton to divulge his deepest darkest secrets? Hmm? Secrets that no doubt he's been told to keep quiet or else. He's not just going to throw up his hands and invite us in for tea.'

Hex wasn't discouraged. 'Trust me. I'll think of something. We'll... improvise.'

'Oh great,' I muttered. 'Why does that scare the crap out of me?'

'Because, my dear,' Hex said with a smirk and Li chuckling in the background, 'you're incredibly cynical. It's a compulsive thing with you, isn't it?'

'Shut up.'

'Neil, Alex, Mara? You guys want to come with me? I need someone to show us where Helton lives-' he pointed to Alex, then faced Mara and Neil '-and... Well, you two are the only ones left, aren't you?'

'Nice, Hex,' Mara drawled, sliding off the stool. 'We feel so important, so special.' She looked to Neil. 'How does it feel knowing you're a last resort?'

'Like my heart's been cut in two.' Neil clapped Hex on the shoulder. 'You certainly have a way with words, mate.'

'It's a gift.'

The four of them headed for the door. In the corner, Li was still laughing away to herself- just what part of the conversation had made her get the giggles I hadn't discovered, nor did I particularly want to. Paulo looked worn out, his head on the table barely an inch from Li's now discarded dinner. I considered heading for the couch for a quick snooze, then decided to be slightly more hygienic and tidy up the uneaten pizza.

'Li,' I said, getting up, reaching for the nearest pizza box, 'can you give me a hand?'

She paused for a moment, watched me pick up the boxes with her head tilted on one side then said, 'Yes, my dear,' before starting to giggle uncontrollably again.

I groaned, knowing that until she got sick of that there was absolutely no chance I'd be able to get her to take me seriously. I was going to _kill_ Hex.


	29. Chapter Twenty Eight

**A/N Kind of interested to hear if anyone's actually still reading this :) I've been a bit slack with the updating; it's all written right to the end and should be fairly quick on new chapters from here on. Reviews are loved XD**

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Chapter Twenty Eight

_**Hex**_

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**

'That one,' Alex murmured, nodding slightly in the direction of a tall building with flaking paint. The perfect hideout for someone who wasn't supposed to exist. 'Flat six A?' He looked to Mara and Neil, just to make sure he'd remembered right. When they nodded, Alex turned back to me. 'We just go in and ask?'

'I suppose...' To be honest, I didn't really have a plan. I was just going to go along with what I'd said to Amber: improvise.

Alex must have read my mind because he grinned and said, 'You have no idea what to do, do you?'

'Not really,' I admitted, peering at the flat block through my window. A curtain twitched in a window halfway up the building. _Level six,_ I realised after a quick count, and wondered whether we ourselves were being watched.

After a few more minutes of whispered discussion, we decided to just barge on in, find flat six A, and knock. As for what happened after that... We felt optimistic, but kept our hopes reasonably low, knowing that, as Amber had pointed out oh so bluntly, Helton wouldn't be eager to reveal any information about himself, Hart, his boss or the machine.

'We'll bluff it,' Mara decided as we crossed the road and approached the flat. She went to pull open the door, stopped, and added in a hushed voice, 'What do we do if he doesn't say anything?'

No one answered. I don't know about the others, but I had been thinking the exact same question and wondering over the answer. How far were we prepared to go to get the information? How far would we be _able_ to go? Our options were limited, the tension building. Heart in my throat, I followed Mara and Alex into the building, Neil right behind me.

We climbed the stairs up to the sixth level and found ourselves facing Helton's flat. Mara took a deep breath and I looked at her sharply. She gave a sheepish smile.

'I don't think I'm cut out for interrogation,' she whispered, which came as a definite surprise. Tough, violent, fearless to the point of complete stupidity, Mara hadn't ever struck me as the sort of person to back away from anything.

'We need someone to watch the door anyway,' Neil cut in, concerned. 'You can stay out here if you want, though I don't think we'll be taking it _too _far.' He looked to me and I nodded immediately.

Mara looked relieved. 'Thanks. I'll just, er...' She cast around and spotted a small alcove further up the hall; she pointed. 'I'll be over there. Good luck, guys.'

As Mara walked away, Alex stepped forward and knocked on the door. We waited, then Alex knocked again when we got no response. Starting to frown, Alex went to knock a third time, when a woman suddenly appeared from a flat further down the hall.

'If you want Michael,' she called, 'you'll have to come back later. He went out, oh... Mustn't have been more than forty minutes ago. I could tell him you dropped by when he gets back if you don't want to hang around...'

The three of us exchanged glances. Mara moved out of her alcove hiding place and joined us.

'Do you know where he went?' Neil asked the woman, who looked at us with suspicion for the first time.

'Why do you want to know?' She sunk back against the doorframe, eyes half narrowed. 'Who are you? Is Michael in some sort of trouble?'

I wanted to hurry and put her fears to rest before she got worked up and jumped to conclusions. The last thing we needed was some concerned, nosy neighbour alerting Helton. But we had a problem: how to explain why four people were knocking on her neighbour's door late at night and were interested in his whereabouts.

'We just need to speak to him,' I said, disgusted with my lack of imagination. 'It's really important. Please, if you know where he went... We need to know.'

The woman made an annoyed sound and leant more heavily against her door. 'You're wasting your time. I _don't_ know. Even if I did I don't think I'd tell you.' I didn't doubt it. 'I came home, he was in the hall-' she pointed to where we were standing '-on the phone. He hung up, ignored my greeting and left. I have no idea where he was going. That satisfy your curiosity?' The way she spoke, how she was standing, made me think that maybe she thought we were cops. Good. I was happy with that. As long as she didn't ask for ID. Or called the real cops.

Beside me, Alex tapped my arm. I looked sideways at him; he gave a tiny nod, then inclined his head, eyes sliding to look past the woman at the second set of stairs at the end of hall. We said goodbye to Helton's neighbour and turned around, as though we were going to head back the way we'd arrived. As, with a huffy sigh, the woman shut her door, we stopped our fake exit and hurried across to the second lot of stairs.

Halfway down, Mara said, 'I bet this goes to a car park. Underground.'

She was proved right when, barely a minute later, we reached the bottom of the stairs. The parking spaces were lit by half a dozen low wattage, flickering fluorescent tubes, throwing distorted shadows up the walls and leaving half the space in almost total darkness. Mara shivered.

'What're we looking for?' Neil asked as we ventured further into the car park.

'Sometimes each flat'll have a reserved car park. If we find Helton's spot, we might...' I trailed off, realising how farfetched the idea was. Whether Helton's car was parked in its spot or not was hardly going to be rock solid proof of where he'd gone, who he'd left with... I was about to suggest we just have a quick look around and head off, when Alex, who'd wandered off by himself, gave a shout.

'Quick! Over here!'

We bolted towards the sound of his voice, arriving just in time to see Alex shrugging off his jacket.

'What is it?' Mara asked, panicked. Her eyes, along with mine and Neil's, travelled to land on the four wheel drive parked in front of us, the engine still running.

Helton was behind the wheel, slumped over.

'Mind yourselves,' Alex warned, before placing his jacket over the window and driving his fist into it. There was the faint tinkle of breaking glass; Alex dropped his jacket, not bothering to put it back on, before reaching through the now glass free window and popping the lock. A faint smell I couldn't place wafted about us, but I wasn't sure whether I'd imagined it or not.

Alex was about to climb into the passenger seat when there was a scream from behind us.

'Oh my God!' The nosy neighbour had followed us down. She was standing behind us, in a pink floral dressing gown, hand to her mouth. 'Is that- What's- My God!'

'Call the police,' Neil told her as Alex slipped into the car, reaching across towards Helton; he turned the key and the engine died. 'And an ambulance.'

The woman stared at Neil as though he'd spoken in another language, then slowly nodded her head and started to turn around. Alex, though, cut in with a subdued, 'Don't worry about the ambulance.'

Her face went white. 'You mean he's...'

Alex nodded and the woman's eyes widened. Mara looked at her in alarm.

'Come on. We'll take you back to your flat, okay?' She took hold of the woman's arm and told us she'd call the police from the lady's flat; the two of them disappeared up the staircase.

'His hands are stuck,' Alex said, sounding puzzled. He gave a little tug and then sat back. 'It's like...'

'Like what?' I asked, stepping closer.

'They've been glued to the wheel.'

We stared at each other, the reality of the situation sinking in. Our suspicions were more or less confirmed when Neil called from the back of the car, 'Come look at this.'

Alex climbed out of the car and the two of us joined Neil. We all stared at the tube stretching from the car's exhaust pipe to a tiny hole made in the back of the car.

'Carbon monoxide inhalation,' Neil said softly. 'Suicide?'

Alex shook his head. 'His hands are stuck to the wheel. Either he wanted to make sure he went through with it or-'

'-someone else did.' I looked around, searching for any security cameras and, when I found none in the immediate area, set off across the car park. Finally I located one, near the exit. I went back to Alex and Neil. 'I'll be back in a minute,' I told them. 'I just want to check something out.'

My gut instinct was telling me that Helton hadn't committed suicide, that this time he really _had_ been murdered, but I needed proof. Although I doubted I'd get that proof from the security camera- it was nowhere near Helton's car- I figured it could provide a lead. Had Hart been involved with Helton's death? He was the most likely suspect as far as I was concerned.

The far corner of the car park sported a small room which I guessed was a sort of security check point. I headed towards it, finding it unmanned and unlocked. Inside was a single monitor, a desk overflowing with rubbish and a three legged chair. It took me barely a minute to find the right section of tape, the section that would surely show anyone arriving or leaving when Helton supposedly went out for the night. I waited, waited, waited and then-

'You're bloody kidding me.'

I rewound the tape, just to be certain I'd seen what I'd thought I had. Sure enough, there was Abigail, looking very suspect, getting into a car. She mustn't have known about the security camera because she was doing nothing to hide her face from it as she climbed into the passenger seat, not the least bit concerned about being captured on the tape. The driver wasn't visible, which was disappointing, but I knew without a doubt that Abigail had had something- or everything, actually- to do with Helton's death. The only question that remained was why. She'd risked her career, no doubt, just six years before to _help_ Helton, make him disappear and become someone completely new, so why had she suddenly gone to the other end of the scale and killed him? Last time I'd been near Abigail's office, I hadn't a chance to snoop around. I decided right then and there to change that. First available opportunity I got, I was going to break in there, hack into her computer and get some answers.

The stakes had been upped and I wasn't about to get left behind.


	30. Chapter Twenty Nine

**Chapter Twenty Nine**

_**Li**_

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Hex was in The Zone.

After watching him- eyes trained on the computer's screen, fingers flying across the keyboard- out of the corner of my eye, I relayed my observation to Amber. She laughed, which made Hex stop abruptly and look over at the two of us in annoyance.

'Will you two get a move on,' he said sharply. 'We haven't got all day, you know.'

I waved him off and turned back to the cupboard with a sigh. 'Yeah, yeah. Where did Paulo and Neil get to? Can I swap with them? Or one of them at least. I bet they're having-' Hex shot me a glare and I quickly started flicking through the cupboard again. 'Or I could just keep doing what I'm doing and shut up.'

'Good idea, Li,' Hex said, not looking amused. 'Really good idea.' His attention once again focused solely on the screen in front of him, he added, 'Now will you get a move on? I don't want to still be here when Abigail gets back.'

'Where is she?' Amber asked; she paused, then quickly resumed her search as Hex began to turn around again.

'Mara and Ava are distracting her.' The background clacking from the keyboard suddenly stopped. 'Got it. I think.'

Amber and I exchanged a glance then, carefully, put down the papers we'd been going through. We went across to Hex and peered over his shoulder. He pointed at the screen.

'"Don't deviate. Smooth sailing so far, but could hit some rough weather soon. C.'" Hex scrolled down, clicked about and brought up another email. '"Thank you. I appreciate it. C."'

'Who's "C"?'

'No idea.' More clicking, another email brought up. '"Maybe it's time to clean out the fridge. Get rid of all your old food. Absolutely no leftovers, though I'm sure it'll be okay if the neighbours knew about it. I actually recommend it. C." And there's more the same.'

'What, more coded, vague emails signed by a letter?' Amber drawled. 'I'd have thought that'd be right up your alley.'

Hex didn't seem to appreciate Amber's tone or lack of faith in his abilities because he handed her a small notebook and pen, indicating the screen. 'Since you seem to be unable to rifle through cupboards, maybe you can copy down emails.'

'I think I'll pass.' She caught the expression on Hex's face and looked disgusted. 'You're serious, aren't you?'

'Yep.' Hex stood, then grabbed Amber by the shoulders and manoeuvred her into the chair. 'Have fun.'

There was an annoyed groan from Amber and the tiniest of sadistic chuckles from Hex.

**

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**

We'd more or less taken over Amber and Hex's flat since our little mission had started, so everyone- apart from me- decided it was time to crash at my place. My tiny kitchen barely fit three people in it, let alone seven, so we ended up in the lounge room, people draped over any available surface. Mara and Paulo sat on the floor against the wall beside the TV; Amber somehow managed to secure the small sofa for herself until Hex, unable to find anywhere else to sit, insisted she move over and share it with him; Alex perched on the ottoman; I was left a small square of floor by his feet.

'The emails,' Mara started, gaining the attention of everyone. 'They just about prove that whoever Abigail's getting orders from, it's not Hart.'

'Unless Hart's super clever and is using some random letter,' Amber offered, sounding both unimpressed and doubtful. 'The emails are too vague, anyway. They don't prove anything except that...' she leaned forward and picked the notebook off the coffee table, flipping open to the first page '...Abigail needs to clean her fridge out. Hardly a ground breaking revelation, is it?'

'So what do we do?' Paulo asked. He stifled a yawn. 'I have to go and meet Hart soon, that's all...'

Hex took the notebook off Amber. 'That's alright, Paulo. If Mara and Neil keep an eye on you, we'll stay here and try to make sense of these.' He looked at the latter two. 'That okay?'

They nodded and the three of them left with our "goodbye"s and "good luck"s chasing them to the door. I levered myself up off the floor and took up Mara and Paulo's spots against the wall, facing Alex, Amber and Hex.

'Let's just think about this for a minute,' Hex suggested. 'The email Amber mentioned before- the cleaning out the fridge one- could be to do with-'

I never found out what his opinion on the message was because a shrill ringing from my pocket cut into the discussion. I answered my phone, noting the unknown number flashing on the screen.

'Hello?'

'Hey, Elise. It's Naomi.'

I blinked. 'Oh! Hi, Naomi.' Three pairs of eyes swivelled my way, watching me with keen interest. 'How're you?'

'Fine, thanks. Yourself?'

'Great.'

Fryer cleared her throat. 'Look, I haven't been super friendly since we met. I apologise. You seem really nice and I know Immy really likes you... What I mean to say is, I was wondering if you wanted to come to a little dinner tonight. It won't be anything super fancy, just a meal at Lucas' place. Do you remember him? From the restaurant?'

'Yeah, I do,' I said, shooting my friends a worried look. They returned it, baffled by what was going on. 'Um... Can you give me a minute, Naomi? I just have to check my diary.' I covered the mouthpiece of the phone, then pointed at a cushion by Hex's elbow. He threw it to me and I stuck the phone underneath it before crawling towards him, Amber and Alex.

'What?' Hex asked.

'She's just invited me to the same dinner Paulo's going to.'

'So?' Amber still looked confused.

'She referred to it as a "just a meal at Lucas' place". Paulo said he was going there to discuss business. Why would they invite me?'

Alex shared my concerns. 'Good point. Maybe you should say you've got something on.'

'Hang on,' Amber said quickly. 'If it _is_ a trap, then why are we letting Paulo walk straight into it?'

'We didn't say it was a trap,' I corrected her, 'just that it seems a little... odd.'

'It's up to you, Li.' Hex shrugged. 'If you don't feel comfortable with it, don't go. We won't hold it against you.'

I knew they wouldn't, but I also knew if I passed up another opportunity to get some information from the inner circle- especially if everything _was_ fine- then I'd never forgive myself. It was up to me whether I wanted to risk it or not. Within seconds I'd made my decision and was back on the phone to Fryer.

'I'd love to come.'

**

* * *

**

'Elise, you remember Enrico, yes?' Fryer smiled at me from the front seat as we waited for Hart to come out of the hotel. Paulo and I exchanged polite greetings, then he looked out the window and I studied my hands with great interest. Out of the corner of my eye I was aware that Fryer was still watching me- _us_- closely. I tried to steady my breathing, which was accelerating along with my ill-feeling over the situation. _You shouldn't have come_, a little voice informed me forcefully. I ignored it; there was nothing more I could do. I was stuck. Paulo and I were both stuck.

'All ready to go?' Hart asked as he slipped behind the wheel of the car. He, too, threw a smile into the backseat, then started the car.

We drove away from the city to the faint sounds of the radio and the occasional question from Fryer. Paulo answered with as much animation as possible, but I knew he was as worried as I was. I kept to single word or simple sentence answers. I figured that Fryer wouldn't notice anything odd about that since I'd always acted that way around her, ever since we'd met. Paulo, on the other hand, had to keep up his happy-go-lucky persona; I didn't envy him even slightly.

We eventually pulled up in front of a huge house- manor would probably be a more accurate name for it. It was like something from a brochure, with the immaculate gardens and freshly painted walls. By this stage it was incredibly dark, so my appraisal of Hart's house was cut short. Nevertheless, I could easily imagine that the rest of his place would have kept the same theme: absolute perfection.

'Nice place,' Paulo remarked as Hart opened the front door and stood back to allow us inside.

Paulo stepped into the hallway, shrugging off his coat; I followed, more hesitant, and Fryer was so close behind me she almost stood on my heels. As I took my own coat off and hung it on a spare peg beside the door, I heard the unnerving sound of the door being locked. The sharp _click_ didn't set my mind at ease and I thought my nerves would snap with the tension.

Nothing about the situation felt right and I knew my face showed how I was feeling.

Paulo was doing a better job at hiding his own concerns, looking incredibly relaxed and at ease as we followed Hart through the hall, down to the dining room. Already seated at the table were West, Payton, Hurst and Adlam. Fryer made a beeline for the seat next to Adlam, leaving three spare spots clustered together at the end of the table. Hart took the chair at the head of the table, Paulo sat next to him and I ended up seated between him and West. I felt even less confident about the evening's outcome when West gave me a cold stare and deliberately angled his chair to block me out.

Something was definitely wrong.

Despite my misgivings, the meal went amazingly smoothly. Paulo and Hart spent the majority of the time talking about both Hart's business and the "smaller company". I tried to not look like I was eavesdropping and made stilted conversation with Fryer, across the table from me. My nerves continued to fray all through the main course, until finally, just as dessert was served, I was about ready to snap.

The conversation all around the table had died down and through dessert the only sounds were those of clinking spoons. I was eating slowly, not feeling overly hungry and barely able to swallow past the lump in my throat. Hart had finished first and was watching both me and Paulo with keen eyes.

Oh shit.

'Elise, Enrico,' he said softly as everyone paused and the two of us became the centre of attention.

Oh shit.

'Why so quiet?' Hart continued, and I set my spoon down beside me as my hand started to shake. He was still watching us intently. Paulo copied me, his expression frozen. 'The two of you are so close I'm amazed you have nothing to talk about.'

No one said anything for a split second. No one moved. No one breathed.

Then all hell broke loose.

Paulo leapt to his feet, shoving his chair backwards so hard it toppled to the ground, hitting the stone tiled floor with a sharp _crack_. Seizing the edge of the table, he yanked on it, sending it crashing over, spilling dishes everywhere.

'Go!' he shouted to me, spinning in my direction and shoving me in the back. After a few stumbling steps I steadied out and raced ahead, Paulo breathing down my neck. Behind us came the sounds of a party breaking up as Hart yelled out orders to his companions.

We were in a whole lot of trouble.

I pelted down a long corridor, not sure where I was going, not sure of anything except for the fact that Paulo was right behind me and we were running for our lives. That was all that mattered at that instant, that we were together and safe.

For the moment.

We continued through the house, doubling back numerous times as we reached the end of a hallway or a room with no way out. It was almost impossible to tell where Hart and the others were as their shouts grew louder then fainter as we moved around the house. Dead end. Hallway. Bedroom. Hallway. Bathroom. Dead end. The passages blurred together until finally we reached the ground floor again. Up ahead was a staircase, a small space between it and the wall behind. Perhaps once there had been a door blocking the gap off, creating a tiny cupboard, but now there was nothing.

'Li. Stop for a minute.' Paulo grabbed my hand and I slowed. He pointed towards the said space and we slid into it. It was poor cover and, if someone had of come along, we'd have been trapped.

'We should keep moving,' I said quietly, trying not to look nervously over my shoulder.

'I know. But I think it's best if we split up.'

'What?'

'You go get help, let the others know what's going on, while I stay here and provide a... distraction.'

I frowned, not liking the plan. 'That's stupid. You'd be putting yourself in danger and-'

'We haven't got much of a choice, Li,' he insisted; I didn't look convinced. 'Look, it's better that just one of us is captured than both, right?'

'It's better if both of us get out of here completely fine.'

'I don't think that's going to happen.'

I considered this point and saw the truth in his words. But that didn't mean I was just going to go along with it. 'Fine. You're a better driver than me so you go and I'll-'

'No. Not an option.'

'Why not?'

Paulo gave an exasperated sigh and flicked my forehead lightly. 'Because I want you out of here. I'm not going to just race off and leave you in danger.'

'Well I'm not going to do that to you either,' I replied defiantly, forgetting to keep my voice hushed. At Paulo's alarmed look, I lowered my voice. 'You don't have to be all chivalrous, for crying out loud. I can look after myself.'

'I don't doubt it.' Paulo grinned. 'And as much fun as it is arguing with you, we haven't exactly got the time right now. Right?'

I reluctantly agreed, conceding defeat. I tried to make myself feel better about the situation by thinking of all the possible ways I'd be in a danger trying to escape the manor, but it didn't work. Paulo was the one in danger, the one who they'd go for. Knowing him, he had a plan that would result in the entire dinner party heading after him, leaving me to make an unnoticed getaway.

'I'm not happy about this,' I said grumpily.

'I know you're not.'

'Isn't there another-'

'No,' he interrupted. 'There's not.' For a little while he stared at me and then sighed again, seeing the defiance in my eyes. 'Promise me you'll go, you'll go let the others know what's happened.'

I hesitated, then nodded wordlessly.

'Li...'

'I promise.'

We stared at each other, neither wanting to leave, then Paulo leaned down and, very gently, almost hesitantly, kissed me. He pulled back so quickly I had no time to respond; I felt almost offended.

'What?' I demanded. 'Does my breath smell that bad? You know, that's not my fault; I wasn't the one who put garlic in the-'

Fighting back a laugh, he pulled me closer and pressed his lips firmly against mine. There was a sense of understanding between us, that perhaps we'd been flitting around each other too long and now it was finally time for things to change, but there was something else, too, a feeling I couldn't place. It unnerved me, but I tried to push it away.

'Just don't do anything stupid, okay? Nothing too heroic.'

Paulo smiled, but he still looked slightly scared. 'Don't worry. Given the circumstances, I'm not feeling that brave.' He pushed me in the direction of the hall. 'Now get out of here. Steal a car- a _nice _one. It's the least they deserve.'

'Good luck,' I said quietly, before hurrying down the hall, forcing myself not to look back.

My frightened, worried mind didn't really register what had just happened, only that I was running away from a situation that could end horribly wrong. But, somewhere, at the very back, there was a tiny flicker of happiness, a hope that somehow everything would be okay: everything between me and Paulo, everything with Alex and Laura, everything with Abigail's corruption, everything with Amber, Hex and the possible move back to Boston... Everything would be fine and dandy.

This faint good feeling vanished as I stumbled into the huge kitchen. I could see the side door, I knew it led outside and all I had to do was cross the floor.

Someone cleared their throat.

I froze.

'And where do you think you're going?'

Relief flowed through me. Just Riley West trying to be all "bad guy". I could take him any day. I turned to face him, a huge smile on my face. His eyes narrowed, apprehensive, worried. So he should be.

'Just thought I'd pop out and get some more wine. Supplies are running a bit low.'

West took a step towards me. 'Oh really? Don't think so.'

'I do.'

He rushed towards me and I lazily sidestepped then spun neatly on my heel and grabbed his left shoulder, tripping him over at the same time. With a yelp, he toppled to the ground.

Li: one. West: not a chance.

Winded, startled and with a wounded ego no doubt, West lay on the floor as I skipped to the door, helped myself to a set of car keys and let myself out. I considered throwing a parting, sarcastic remark over my shoulder but decided to be nice and let him keep what little dignity he had left.

The keys I'd snatched turned out to fit a car that was certainly in my definition of "nice", so I unlocked it and climbed in, settling myself behind the wheel. Alex's flat was closest and along a route that had the least traffic, so it made sense to head there. I started the car, reversed out into the driveway and got the hell out of there.


	31. Chapter Thirty

**Chapter Thirty**

_**Paulo**_

**

* * *

**

Fire has a number of uses. It can keep you warm. It can keep wild animals away from you. It can provide light.

It can cause complete chaos.

I was utilising use number four in an upstairs bedroom. Having found the room, complete with a fireplace and box of matches on the mantel, I wasn't about to let the opportunity pass by. The plan, all things going well, involved me lighting a fire, everyone else racing in a blind panic to put it out and, in the chaos, me making my timed-to-perfection escape. Unfortunately for me, only I was aware of this brilliant and ingenious arrangement and so Hart and his cronies didn't exactly play along.

I made a small heap of crumpled up newspaper and broken chair legs in the centre of the room, retrieved the matches, and set it alight. The paper caught quickly and I watched as the flames swiftly licked down, spreading towards the wooden legs. After a heart stopping moment when the fire almost died, they caught again. Before too long I had a nice warm fire burning brightly in Hart's house. Being a bit pressed for time, I wasn't able to fully appreciate it, and I reluctantly turned around to head for the door.

'Oh. Hi.' I stopped suddenly, like I'd hit a wall, not having expected to find Fryer and Hurst glaring at me from the doorway. 'Er...' I cast a guilty glance over my shoulder at the fire. 'It started itself?'

'Nice try,' Fryer spat. She gave a sudden, scary smile. 'Sweet dreams,' she said, and shut the door. I heard the lock click into place.

'Hey!' I shouted, hammering on the wood with my fists. 'Oi!'

Behind me, the fire was growing. I'd made it close to the bed, complete with hanging curtains, and now the flames were flicking towards the material. As I watched in horror, they caught alight, the fire rapidly running up, engulfing the entire frame. I redoubled my efforts, trying to not so much gain their attention now as break the door down. Smoke was filling the room. My vision was becoming more limited by the second. The fire was growing. The combination of heat and smoke was making me feel faint.

Through the haze I saw the door open. The edge hit my toes and I took a few shaky steps backward before someone reached in and grabbed for my arm, tugging me out of the room. The smoke followed me, hanging in the corridor. I was coughing so hard I thought one of my lungs was going to leap out of my mouth, but whoever had my arm wouldn't let me rest. With a grumpy yell, they dragged me down the hallway. I followed automatically, not realising until we reached the entrance hall that the person latched onto my arm was Hart.

'Thanks,' I managed to choke out. He shot me a brief, annoyed look and jerked on my arm.

Outside, Hurst pulled up in a van. Adlam appeared from somewhere and took hold of my other wrist. He and Hart pulled me to the back of the van and made sure I got inside; I joined West, who was looking very disgruntled and nursing his elbow, Fryer and Payton. Hart exchanged a few whispered words with Adlam, then both left. The doors slammed shut and there was a moment of complete darkness before the interior light came to life.

Two guns were pointed at my head.

Fan-_tastic_.

**

* * *

**

'And here I was thinking you were saving my life,' I said bitterly as the van doors opened and Hart's head poked inside. We'd arrived at our destination- wherever the heck that was- and it was obviously time for me to get out.

Fryer and Payton poked their guns at me and I stuck my hands in the air, rolling my eyes as I stepped down from the van.

'Have a bit of patience, please.' I looked around with interest, noting that the surroundings seemed vaguely familiar, like I'd seen the place before. But I knew I hadn't been there so... I faced Hart. 'This is where your company is based, isn't it? Your actual company, not the "small business".'

Hart looked at me with distaste. 'I'd stay quiet if I were you.'

'And I'd be less sure of myself if I were you,' I shot back.

No response except for a sharp jab in my back with a gun. Okay. So they weren't fond of smart arses. I decided I could deal with that and I wouldn't antagonise; I was definitely grateful I'd insisted Li go for help instead of me. She wouldn't have been able to help herself.

'Sorry,' I said, trying to sound meek. 'I'll be quiet.'

'Good,' Hurst said gruffly. He took Fryer's gun from her and pressed a length of rope into her hands. 'Tie his wrists. We'll do his ankles inside.'

'We're going in there?' I asked, curious, nodding at the large grey building in front of us. We'd parked round the back and I couldn't see an entrance; unless they were planning on taking me, their poor prisoner, around the front and through the main entrance, I didn't see how they'd manage it.

'None of your business, _spook_.' Fryer wound the rope around my wrists, tying it off tightly. I didn't wince, didn't react, determined not to show any emotion. _Think like Hex_, I chanted silently. _Think like Hex. Think like Hex. _

'Too tight?' Hart asked.

Not sure whether his concern was genuine or not, I simply shrugged and waved my joined hands up and down in front of me. Fryer cackled- I was starting to think she was slightly insane- and gave a final tug on the rope before taking her gun back off Hurst. He drew his own, as did Adlam. Four guns trained on me, we walked across the back parking spaces and towards the building; as we got closer I noticed the tiny door, blending so perfectly into the outer wall you wouldn't have been able to tell it was there unless you knew what to look for and where to find it.

'Wait here,' Hart told us, then unlocked the door and disappeared into the darkness. He reappeared a short while later and stood to one side as we filed past. I felt someone take hold of the rope tying my wrists together; someone else pressed a gun to my lower back. I don't know why they bothered; the corridor was too narrow, too dark, for me to try anything. Not to mention that my hands were firmly- _very _firmly- tied together.

But whatever gave them peace of mind.

The further we went along the corridor, the lighter it became until, finally, I could see my hands, the person holding my wrists, the floor... The huge basement we were walking into.

The corridor ended above ground, at a railed balcony overlooking a large, almost empty room. Almost empty except for the large screen in the middle of it. My eyes widened, my steps faltered.

'Is that-' I started to ask, but Hart cut over the top of me.

'-the machine?' He looked rather proud of himself. 'Of course.' He gestured to the narrow, very vertical staircase to our left. 'Head on down.'

It was perilous going, climbing down those stairs. _More of a ladder_, I though as I tried to make my way down without using my hands. Thankfully Fryer had stayed at the top. She'd struck me as the sort of person who would have liked to give me a push and bet on how many injuries I received.

'Mind yourself,' Hart said as I reached the bottom and clumsily jumped to the ground. As I walked past him to stand to one side, he said under his breath so only I could hear, 'I did try to warn you.'

Confused and with no chance to ask him what he meant, I let the sentence slip from my mind and acted as though I hadn't heard. Hart's frown was back, creasing his brow and making him look years older, hassled, worried. Only Payton and West had followed us down. Hart said something to them and headed back up the ladder-stairs, leaving the three of us at the bottom.

'Come on,' Payton said, taking charge when West just continued to shift from foot to foot nervously. He didn't look like the sort of person who'd be caught up in something like this, and I wondered if he had actually known what he was getting himself into when he'd signed up.

Payton led me across the room, closer to the machine. As he pushed me to the ground in front of a thin metal pole, I caught sight of a second door on the opposite wall. Unlike the door we'd come through, this one wasn't hidden, camouflaged, though that could have been something to do with the fact that this side was on the inside of the room, not the outer face.

After slicing through the rope binding my wrists, Payton and West pulled an arm each behind me, retying them so I was bound to the pole. They stepped back and considered me.

'Tie his feet?' West asked.

Payton frowned, then shook his head. 'Don't bother. He isn't going anywhere. Come on.'

They left, heading for the second door, the one I'd just noticed. I waited until it shut, the _clang _echoing around the cavernous room, and then started to wiggle my wrists, surprised when I found I had quite a lot of movement. Chuckling, I kept moving my wrists, eventually edging them out of the coiled rope. Evidently neither Payton nor West had ever learnt to tie a proper knot.

Free of the rope, I stood up, stretching my arms. I hurried across to the second door and tried to open it.

Locked. Damn.

The first door, up the ladder-stairs, was locked as well and I returned to the ground feeling rather disappointed. Then my eyes fell on the machine and that disappointment turned to elation.

I was locked in a room with a machine that was supposed to be able to see the future.

'Let's see how you work,' I murmured, cautiously stepping onto the platform. The machine gave a low hum and I jumped, looking around wildly; if this machine was really as important as made out, then the fact I was tinkering with it was sure to annoy its owners. Then again, it wasn't like I could get into any more trouble. _At least you're still alive,_ a voice reminded me, but I pushed it impatiently away.

A second, smaller platform at waist height jutted out before me. On the left hand side of this was a clear pad, the outline of a handprint drawn onto it. Cautiously, I pressed my hand onto the outline.

Nothing happened.

The disappointment came back and I started to take my hand off the pad. Then, just as I was about to walk away and try to find another way out, there was a loud _pop_ and the screen in front of me buzzed with static. I slowly replaced my hand.

There was a sudden rush, like the feeling you got when a speeding train shot past, and the screen flickered with hundreds of images, all appearing and leaving within less than a second. I briefly thought about advising Hart on including a "may cause epileptic fits or mild seizures" warning with the machine, but this idea was stopped in its tracks as the images finally slowed, the final one still on the screen.

I stopped breathing, my heart clenched in an unbreakable vice. The image on the screen was terrifying, sickening, and yet I couldn't look away. For an age I just stood there, staring at the clip that kept replaying over and over again on the screen.

'Oi! How did you get free?'

Payton grabbed me and yanked me away from the machine; he and West must have just come back into the room, though I hadn't noticed their entrance. As soon as my palm slipped off the pad, the image flickered and died. Even though it was no longer on the screen in front of me, I couldn't get the horrible scene out of my head. It was burned into my retinas, imprinted forever in my mind.

Li, lying on the ground, in an ever increasing pool of blood.


	32. Chapter Thirty One

**Chapter Thirty One**

_**Alex**_

**

* * *

**

'Alex!' There was a frantic banging on my front door followed by more half sobbed, half shouted words. 'Come on. Open up.'

I hurried to unlock the door and let Li in. She just about collapsed in front of me so I grabbed her arms and held her up. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she was paper pale.

'Are you okay?' I asked, though it was painfully clear she was anything but.

She shook her head, still crying. 'They've got Paulo,' she sobbed. 'They knew we were undercover. They _knew_.' Her voice grew angry, accusing. 'How the hell did they know, Alex?'

'I don't know. Look, come and sit down.' I guided her towards the kitchen. 'Where's your coat? You're freezing.'

Li looked at her bare arms, as though she'd just noticed her lack of winter gear. 'I must have forgotten to grab it. You know,' she added tersely, 'what with being a bit preoccupied with escaping and everything else, it must have just slipped my mind.'

'Okay. No need to get snippy. You sit here and drink that-' I slid my untouched cup of coffee towards her '-while I call the others.'

I did so quickly, explaining in as few words as I could what had happened and telling them to get over to my flat as fast as was humanly possible. Amber kept saying "But-" and "How-" but I cut her off each time then ended the call. Before I could call Mara and Neil, my phone rang, a distraught Mara on the end of the line, babbling away at a mile a minute about how she and Neil had lost track of Li and Paulo. I filled her in, which brought on a storm of swearing and an abrupt dial tone as she hung up. The two of them arrived shortly after that, Mara still in a state and Neil looking guilty; Amber and Hex joined us minutes after they did. Once everyone was squashed into my kitchen, I gestured to Li.

'What happened?' I asked her gently.

'I, er...' She rubbed her forehead and shook her head as though clearing, sorting through thoughts. 'I think they knew from the start. Before we even got in the car.' She looked pained and guilty. 'Neither of us should have gone.'

Amber was upset. 'It's our fault,' she said, indicating herself and Hex. 'We told you it was fine.'

'We lost track of you,' Mara said, sounding furious with herself. 'One simple little task... They set up a bloody decoy car and we were _stupid _enough to be fooled by it.'

'It was our decision,' Li reassured both of them, though neither looked convinced. 'We were the stupid ones.' Eyes filled with tears, she stared down at the cartoon cow on the coffee cup. 'They waited all the way through dinner, pretended everything was fine. But it wasn't. Paulo knocked the table over, bought us some time. He made me leave to go and get help.' She hiccupped. 'I should've stayed or insisted he come with me or... something.'

Sliding onto the stool beside Li, Amber pulled her into a one armed hug. Mara moved to her other side, took the cup and went to refill it. Li leaned her head against Amber's shoulder and sniffed while the rest of us- me, Hex and Neil- stood about feeling pretty useless.

'I'm just- I think I'll- If you need me-' Hex gave up trying to explain what he was going to go and do and just headed for the living room. Neil followed and I was about to as well when Mara asked me where my coffee was kept.

'Top cupboard,' I said, then realised she wouldn't be able to reach it. I brushed past her and took it down. Once again, I went to leave, but Li stopped me.

'Can you promise me this time?' she asked softly and it took me a minute to realise what she was referring to: Paulo's last disappearance, during our second MI5 mission. I'd promised her he'd be fine- and, luckily, he had been. But this time... This time we were in a situation that was so much messier. This time we were really isolated, with no one else we could trust to help. This time, almost three years later, I knew that keeping such a promise wasn't as easy as it seemed.

'I- There's-'

She smiled sadly. 'Didn't think so. Thanks anyway, Alex.'

**

* * *

**

Early next morning I woke up on the couch, my next bent at a painful angle. I stretched, wincing as my cramped muscles complained at the sudden movement. My friends were asleep in various positions around me in my lounge room, all of us having decided that spending the night at my flat, all together, was the popular option. Hex and Amber were curled up together on the second couch, a fact that I knew Li would have been either giggling or "awwwww"ing about if the circumstances were different. Mara had opted for a doona and pillow on the floor between Li and Neil. Neil was still sleeping beside her but Li-

From the kitchen I heard a faint squeak, a chair pushed across the floor. I got up and went to investigate, finding Li in almost the exact position as she had been the night before: sitting on the first stool, eyes searching her coffee for answers. She looked up as I approached, but quickly dropped her gaze again.

'Hey,' I said softly. 'Sleep okay?'

She shrugged. 'Guess so.' A tiny smile flickered across her face. 'Apart from Mara elbowing me in the ribs for half the night. And she stole most of my blanket. What about you?'

I walked across the room and put the kettle back on to boil, leaning against the bench afterwards. 'Not too bad.'

Amber padded into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and yawning. 'Morning,' she said sleepily, then put her hands on her lower back and stretched. There was a faint cracking sound. 'You need to buy a longer couch, Alex. I'm all bent out of shape.' She shivered. 'Then there's the fact that bloody Hex kept yanking on the blanket. My front was freezing. Did we even have the heat on last night? Who was in charge of that?'

'All done whinging, Amber?' I asked her lightly, turning to attend to the shrieking kettle.

'For the moment. How're you, Li?'

There was a faint creak- Amber getting on the stool next to Li- and then a sniff. I finished pouring water into two cups and took one across to Amber.

'We can't do anything, can we?' Li asked. She looked dreadful, like she hadn't slept for even a second the night before. 'Not a bloody thing.' She took a deep breath and wiped her hand firmly across her eyes.

'Oh, Li.' Amber put her arm around Li and rubbed her shoulder. 'It'll be okay.'

Li nodded, though if the expression on her face was anything to go by, she didn't fully believe it would be.

'You know,' Amber, ever the opportunist, added in a low voice, 'that after all this is over, the two of you really need to have a talk.'

Li gave a little laugh, which made Amber look puzzled. 'We already have, I suppose,' Li explained.

Amber's eyes lit up. 'Details,' she demanded. 'Now.'

I silently congratulated Amber on distracting Li from the situation, then felt it was time for me to leave. Just as I was wondering whether I could subtly move away without disrupting their conversation, the phone rang; I mentally thanked some higher power and quickly went to get it.

'Hello?'

'Alex Craig?' came Abigail's annoyed voice.

I forced myself to not hang up on her and gritted my teeth.

'Speaking.'

'The lot of you. Down at my office. Now.'

Abigail hung up, leaving me to assume that 'the lot of you' referred to me and my friends and wonder over what we'd done to piss her off this time.


	33. Chapter Thirty Two

**Chapter Thirty Two**

_**Hex**_

**

* * *

**

Abigail was fuming. 'I don't believe this. Actually, no. I do. This is _exactly_ the type of stunt I'd expect from the seven of you.'

'There's only six of us here,' Li said, her voice quivering with anger and worry. 'Just in case you hadn't noticed.'

'Oh I've noticed, Cheong.' She raised her eyebrows, almost mockingly. 'Where is Varela, by the way?'

Li's whole body shook and only Amber's hand on her arm stopped her from leaping to her feet and attacking Abigail.

'How long has this been going on? This _unauthorised__-_' she hissed the word at us '-mission?'

No one answered and Abigail's rage doubled.

'I want an explanation,' she barked. 'You've all been ignoring my orders and going out of the way to question my authority.'

'Ah, "questioning" your authority was just a bonus,' I said, determined to get a word in, if only to see how much redder Abigail's face could get. Maybe she'd pop a vein. I suppressed a chuckle at the image. The shade of scarlet decorating her face intensified a few notches.

_'__What__?'_

'Well, the reasons we were working on an "unauthorised case" was because a, you wouldn't give us an authorised one and b, it needed investigating.'

'And do you know why I didn't give any of you a job more important than filing papers, answering the phones and making coffee?'

'Because you didn't want to proven wrong. You didn't want to seem stupid for saying that junior officers are incapable of undertaking important missions when they most certainly are. You didn't want to admit that Harry Field had done an amazing job with training his officers. And we always will be_his_officers, no matter how long you're here for, no matter what you say, no matter how hard you try to bully us into accepting you.'

Abigail recovered the power of speech a few seconds later. 'How _dare_you,' she fairly screeched. 'I have never heard such a pile of utter rubbish _in my __life_.'

'You should listen to yourself a bit more then.'

While I'd never been on Abigail's "favourite people" list, I doubt she'd ever hated me more than she did at that moment. Breathing heavily, she forced out through her clenched teeth, 'Who gave you the lead? How did you find out about the machine?'

'Let's just say... an old friend.' My mouth tasted bitter referring to Price as a friend- I had about as much fondness for him as I had for tiny, dark, damp spaces. With no power.

Unfortunately my explanation wasn't as subtle as I'd hoped. Abigail's eyes flickered to Amber, her head bowed and hand still firmly clutching Li's arm, and it clicked. I fought back a frown; she'd put the pieces together amazingly quickly...

'Jasper Price,' she said with a snort of disbelief. 'Oh this is gold. Complete gold. Not only are you disobeying me, but you're aiding and abetting, not to mention gathering evidence off, an escaped criminal- a murderer. This sinks below even my lowest expectations of you all.'

'You can hardly talk.'

Her eyes snapped to slits. 'What's that supposed to mean, Smith?'

I shrugged. 'Just that we're not the only ones fraternising with criminals.'

'Are you implying that-'

'-you're as bent as a crowbar? Yes, I am.' I was less than satisfied with my simile but it had the desired effect regardless. Now a lovely shade of red that closely resembled a very ripe tomato, Abigail opened and closed her mouth, perhaps deciding what swear word to hurl at me first. Choices, choices.

'You've crossed the line,' she snarled. 'How _dare_you even consider that.'

'Oh I dare all right- ma'am. And I'm not just considering it. I'm saying- without the slightest hint of doubt- that you are connected to this machine and to the people building it. And we're going to prove it.'

There was groan from beside me- Alex I think. Okay. Maybe that hadn't been a smart move, letting Abigail know we were onto her, but she'd gone too far. I hadn't been the only one to cross the line.

'Get out,' she said finally. We didn't move and she bellowed, 'Now! Move it.'

Li, Amber, Mara and Neil leapt to their feet and just about bolted for the door; it looked like Amber was dragging Li. Alex and I took our time, never letting our accusing gazes waver from Abigail's face.

'This isn't over, Smith,' she called as we reached the door. Half smiling, I turned around and nodded in agreement.

'You're right. It's only just beginning.'

**

* * *

**

Amber wouldn't sit still. From the second we walked through the door of our flat, she was buzzing with anxious energy, not staying in the same place for more than a few seconds. I watched her flit from room to room for ten minutes, before I decided that she needed to calm down.

'Amber,' I said firmly, grabbing hold of her shoulders as she tried to hurry past me. She stopped, breathing ragged, and looked at me with panicked eyes. 'Calm down.'

'How can I calm down?' She wrung her hands nervously. 'We're up to our bloody necks in this, Hex. Paulo's God knows where, Abigail knows we're onto her- and she knows about Jasper helping us. She's probably the reason why Li and Paulo's covers were blown...'

I pushed her towards the living room and made her sit down on the couch.

'Getting all anxious won't solve anything, okay? You need to keep your head, because it's up to us to solve this mess and get Paulo out. So just try, alright?'

Amber nodded, then sighed and, finally, relaxed her hands. 'I'm calm. I'm fine. Everything's going to be okay.' She looked to me, as though for conformation. 'Right?'

I hesitated, unsure what to say. On one hand I wanted to reassure her and make sure she didn't get all worked up again; on the other hand I wasn't going to lie.

'I hope so. And we'll do everything we can to make sure that happens. I promise.'

'But you can't promise it's all going to be fine, can you?'

I shrugged. 'I could, but I'd be lying.' Amber's face grew panicked and I hurried to explain further. 'No, no, no. That's not what I meant. I don't want to lie to you, so I'm not going to make a promise about something that's completely and totally outside of my control.'

'Oh,' she said, evidently relieved. 'Good. Okay.' After a heavy pause, Amber added, 'Hex? If it's okay with you, I wouldn't mind going back to Boston after all this is over. At least for a little while. I just- I don't know. It feels like something I need to do. If you don't want to, I can just go for a few weeks, but...'

'No, that's fine.' And, once again, I wasn't lying. 'The moving there, I mean- and I know what you're saying, as well. I think it's a good idea.' And I honestly did, though I had barely given the prospect a second thought since John had emailed Amber. Going solely by my gut instinct- which I seemed to be doing a lot of lately- moving to Boston was the best thing to do.

Amber seemed to be almost eager to keep discussing a topic that was far removed from the current situation. I went along with it without question.

'To be perfectly honest, I was actually thinking about moving back there at the end of our second mission.' She smiled. 'But then you made things a little bit complicated. As always.'

'What do you mean?'

Amber just looked at me and I feigned innocence.

'You know exactly what I'm talking about.'

I grinned, not willing to pass up an opportunity for some teasing. 'Of course I do. I'm the one that said it, remember? So you decided against leaving because of me?' Ego inflated only slightly.

'No,' she protested. 'Not in the slightest.' I threw the look she'd given me minutes before back her way. 'Well, okay, yes. Sort of. It was more the fact that I had no idea what- No, I did know what you were talking _about_ but I wasn't sure what you were implying.'

'How much more obvious could I have been?' I asked indignantly.

Amber laughed and I was relieved to see her more or less tension free. 'Oh, I don't know. You could have always used plain English instead of some weird code. How was I supposed to know what you meant?'

'I figured you were smart enough to get the gist of it,' I said, making sure my tone was demeaning; Amber frowned slightly, so she obviously did take a mild offense. 'At least I took some kind of initiative.'

She laughed again, the frown disappearing. 'Oh you did not just say that.'

'What?'

'"Initiative" isn't kissing me instead of ducking, then denying it happened for a year, then bringing it up in the most cryptic and confusing way possible, then denying _that_ for _another_ year, then sending me a bloody email.'

'Well if it's not initiative, what is it?'

'I don't know. Something more nerdy and geeky. Avoidance? Yeah, that's what it was. Avoidance. You dropped little hints, but really hoped I'd say something first. You are so predictable.'

'No it wasn't. And no I'm not. And why was it up to me? What about you?'

Amber seemed to seriously consider this point for a few moments. 'I think it has something to do with the fact that if a guy gets rejected, it's not as sad as when a girl does. It was a bit of denial as well, I think, if we're being completely honest.'

'Denial?'

Making some strange gesture with her hands, Amber said, 'Yeah. I mean, I knew how I felt about you, but you frustrate me so much and we always argue and there were times when I wanted to kill you.' Her eyes narrowed. 'I still do sometimes.'

I slid further down the couch way from her.

'And I didn't want to risk losing you,' she added softly, 'which is exactly Li's reasoning now with Paulo. Or it was up until last night. At the end of the day, it's better just to have that really close, sometimes awkward friendship then nothing at all. Right?'

I murmured my agreement and we sat in a comfortable silence for a little while until I broke it by saying, 'I'm glad you stayed. Really glad.'

'Me too.'

'Amber! Hex!' The front door crashed open and Mara rocketed into the lounge room in a blind panic. 'Oh my God. Are you both okay?'

'Yeah.' Amber got up and went to Mara, worried. 'What's happened?'

Almost in tears, Mara choked out, her words just about running together, 'I went home and my flat was a total mess. Stuff everywhere. Nothing's been taken, but the whole place is trashed.'

Given the state she was in, I assumed that, even though she took a huge breath and stopped talking for a lengthy amount of time, Mara's flat being trashed wasn't her primary concern.

'I figured it might have had something to do with our little investigation, so I called Neil, just to ask whether his place was in a state or not.' Mara took a second great, heaving breath. 'He didn't answer so I tried Li. She didn't pick up. So I rang Alex.'

'Let me guess,' I said, not feeling overly confident as to the story's outcome. 'He wasn't there either.'

Mara nodded. 'I went round to Neil's. Same as with my flat- total mess. Li's and Alex's are the same... No one's there...'

The three of us exchanged frightened yet resigned looks. There wasn't going to be a quick fix to the situation. Amber was one hundred per cent right: we really we were up to our necks in it.


	34. Chapter Thirty Three

**Chapter Thirty Three**

_**Amber**_

**

* * *

**

Mara was a complete wreck. I sat with her in the back seat, watching her out of the corner of my eye as she stared out the window at the passing scenery. Despite my best efforts, Hex had ended up behind the wheel. At least focusing on getting Mara to relax slightly distracted me from his driving.

'Hey,' I said softly. She looked my way briefly, gave a tight smile, then faced the window again. 'Mara. You alright?'

'Do you know what really sucks about this whole situation?' she said, bitter, angry. 'We don't even know where to start. I mean, they could be anywhere, with anyone... It's like searching for a bloody needle in a fucking haystack.'

In the rear view mirror I saw Hex's eyebrows rise.

'I know,' I said softly. 'But we're doing everything we can, right?'

'It's not enough though. It's _never_ enough.'

She faced the window again, stubbornly shutting me out. I sighed and gave up; I understood her frustration, though. We'd already thoroughly searched Neil, Paulo and Alex's flats, finding nothing but destruction and little to go on. By now Mara was completely and totally fed up with everything that had happened. Once again, I didn't blame her, but I wanted her to understand that taking it out on us wasn't going to help.

I reached across the seat and put my hand on her arm. 'I know you're scared, upset, worried... I am too.' I glanced at the front seat and then back to her. 'And Hex is. We'd be crazy not to be. A lot's at stake here, we're completely out of our depth and, yes-' I grinned as she looked at me '-it's like looking for a needle in a fucking haystack.'

Mara gave a little laugh, sniffing. She'd been crying; I noticed the drying trails of tears on her cheeks, the slight redness of her eyes.

'But if we don't work together, if we don't stay strong and focused, then we have no chance.'

There was a pause.

'Okay.' Mara sniffed again. 'You've brainwashed me. I was being an idiot. I'm sorry.' She tried to look stern. 'Stiff upper lip, chaps,' she added, over exaggerating her accent and drawing her eyebrows together in a determined frown; I laughed. 'Carry on.'

Hex snorted. 'Aren't you two meant to be distraught?'

I let go of Mara's arm and hit the back of Hex's head. 'Shut it, Giles. Keep driving.'

'Yes, ma'am.' He snapped a salute, the car swerving.

'And keep both hands _on_ the wheel.'

'Yes, ma'am.' There was a snigger; my eyes narrowed. I looked up at the rear view mirror again, just in time to catch his eye roll. Another hit to the back of the head. Unfortunately, Mara intervened before I could relieve him of any more brain cells.

'Okay, lovebirds. I'm all cheered up now.' She still looked worried, but I imagine that Hex and I both wore similar expressions. 'You can start taking it seriously again. We've still got Li's flat to look at.'

'Indeed we do,' I agreed, but I was reluctant to let go of the joking; it was making the tension retreat a bit, for me at least. I gave Hex one final tap on the head. 'Drive, Giles.'

**

* * *

**

Hex parked in the designated visitor's car park at the unit complex. Mara tumbled out of the car before it had even fully stopped.

'I'll head on up,' she said, already setting off for Li's flat.

I got out of the car more slowly, Hex watching me closely.

'What?' I said, annoyed.

He held up his hands defensively. 'Nothing. You coming?'

'In a minute.'

He stopped, halfway to the stairs.

'Go on.' I waved him away impatiently. 'I'll catch up.'

After staring at me curiously for an extra second or two, Hex shrugged and left, calling, 'Hurry up,' over his shoulder. I waited until he'd disappeared up the stairs and around the corner of the first landing before turning around and heading in the opposite direction. Something felt wrong. Weird. Out of place.

After a quick scout of the parking spaces, both the visitor and tenant ones, I made my way back to the car, intending to head up to Li's flat. I wasn't feeling hopeful, knowing deep down that all we'd find would be what we'd discovered in the others' flats: a monumental mess and nothing to help us unravel the mystery.

I climbed the stairs, pausing at the top. Li's flat was down the corridor straight ahead; I started down that way, but stopped again, the hairs on the back of my neck standing up, my heart rate accelerating. Someone was behind me. Slowly, nervously, I turned around and-

'Jasper!' I gasped, heart racing.

'Sorry,' he said quickly. 'Didn't mean to scare you.'

As my heart rate slowed to normal I moved forward, pushing him in front of me, away from the direction of Li's flat; my friends didn't need to know he was here. 'Scare me?' I hissed. 'You nearly gave me a heart attack. What're you doing here, anyway?'

'Um... I- er- I need to talk to you.'

His tone didn't boost my confidence and I slowed, staring at him with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity.

'What about exactly?'

'Um...' Jasper bit his lip. 'It's a- Um...'

'Jasper?' I reached out and, hesitantly, took hold of his arm. 'Are you okay?'

He looked down at my hand and then back at me. 'Your friend came to see me the other day.'

'Which one?' Before he could answer, it dawned. 'Alex. Right.'

'Yeah.'

'What'd he want?'

'To talk, believe it or not,' he said with a tiny laugh. 'Well, after a slight... fight.' He half winced, his hand brushing a bruise forming along his jaw.

I nodded slowly, confused as to where the conversation was headed.

'He told me I needed to face up to what I did- to your boss. He said I needed to go back to jail when this is all over. I agreed.' He stared at me, pure terror written all over his face. 'But I can't, Annie. I just _can't_. I've double crossed some of the most powerful drug and weapon dealers in Europe; I've been on the verge of dying at the hands of ruthless dealers so many times I've lost count; I've killed people in cold blood; I've watched friends, family, die... But I can't go back to prison. I can't face that.'

'Jasper,' I said softly, 'a couple of those things are the very reasons why you were sentenced, why you have to hand yourself in. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like for you, but it's your own fault. You made the decisions, now you have to deal with the consequences.' I let go of his arm. 'I need to get going.'

As I turned and started walking back down the balcony, Jasper grabbed my arm.

'There's something else,' he said urgently. 'I have another theory.'

'Oh great,' I muttered. 'Something for me to look into during my spare time.'

'I can't tell you what it is.'

'What?' I asked, confused. 'Why- If you can't tell me, why bother mentioning it?'

'Because I think it may concern you.'

'Jasper-'

He cut me off with a quick, 'I haven't got any evidence, nothing more concrete than a cryptic sentence I wasn't even supposed to hear.' He stared at me, begging almost. 'Look, Annie, I just- I don't want to see you get hurt.'

I almost blurted out, 'So trying to have me drowned in the Thames and nearly pushing me off a twenty story balcony wasn't trying to hurt me?' but managed to keep my mouth shut.

'Do you trust me?'

Caught off guard by the question, all I could manage was a startled, 'What?'

'Do you trust me?' he repeated.

I actually had to think- _really_ think- before answering. 'I did. Once. Then you sort of...'

'Wrecked everything. Yeah. I know.'

I shook my head without really being aware of what I was doing. 'No, no. Well, partly, yes. But it's more than that, Jasper. It's... It's everything. It's what happened. It's what _nearly_ happened. It's the circumstances in which we met. It's who we both are- I mean, I'm with MI5 and you're...' I trailed off, feeling awkward, wanting to come up with another excuse, something general that could apply to anyone, not just him. 'Besides, I don't trust people that easily anyway.'

'But you said you _used_ to trust me.'

'Yeah. I did. And- Please don't take offence to this, but I honestly think that was one of the worst mistakes I've made in my life. I'd prepared so much for a mission where the targets would be evil, people I could barely stand, who I'd be so happy to see put away for ever. That's how it started off. Then... Then I got to know you- and Georgia, Roxy and... I stopped seeing you as a target and just as a friend who'd gotten into some bad business.' I let out a shaky breath and stared at the ground. 'Do you know that one of the most terrifying times in my life was when I was told that the mission was being folded, that you were going to be brought in. I- I actually considered letting you know, telling you what was going to happen and making sure you could get away. Mustn't have been too good at hiding it because- You remember at the industrial lot? I got that phone call; it was one of my friends, asking me where I was.'

'Yeah, I do remember. You said you were having a few days off.'

I nodded. 'She knew I was lying, but she didn't think I was in danger. She thought I was going to skip the country with you.'

There was a tense silence, broken only when Jasper said quietly, 'Kind of wish we had of.' He looked up at me. 'You need to get out of here, out of London, out of England- out of Europe would be even better.'

'Why?'

'My theory.' Jasper gave a tiny smile. 'I know I don't deserve it, but do you think you could trust me again? Even just a little bit?'

'I don't know. Believe me, I really do want to. But I don't know if I can. As much as I wish I could, you can't change the past.'

'Can change the future, though, right?'

I started to get a bad, bad feeling about where the conversation was headed. With a quick, mumbled goodbye I turned on my heel, ready to walk away and avoid what I knew was coming. Once again, Jasper grabbed my arm.

'Come with me.'

'I can't.'

'Sure you can. It'll be safer- for both of us.'

'I- What I mean is, I don't want to. It's nothing personal, Jasper, I swear, but for one thing you're not even one hundred per cent sure of this second theory, are you?' _And you're meant to be in a high security prison. _

Jasper didn't answer.

'And even if you are, I'm not going to run away, leave everything behind. I can't do that- and I don't just mean legally.'

He shrugged and smiled tightly again. 'Suppose you're right. You've still got everything, haven't you? Your job, boyfriend, place to live, friends... Freedom. I shouldn't drag you into my mess.' He didn't sound jealous, just sad. There was an uncomfortable pause before he continued: 'Just, um, hypothetically, if you didn't have to leave everything, if the circumstances were different, would you have come?'

Yet another painful pause.

'I'm not sure,' I finally said, and then hurried to shove the conversation in another direction. 'And you know that you can't leave, don't you. You do have to face this, Jasper. Alex is one hundred per cent right: you need to hand yourself in. I do promise you, though, that you don't have to do this alone anymore, okay? I'll come visit.' It briefly crossed my mind that maybe, after everything had been wrapped up, I wouldn't want to have anything to do with him, but I quickly banished that thought. And I was going back to Boston shortly after everything had died down, after everything was back to normal- I didn't consider that things might never be "back to normal" again; it wasn't an option the way I saw things- but I left that part out too.

'Really?'

I nodded. 'Of course. And don't worry, I won't bring Hex.'

Jasper shrugged. 'He's not that bad.' He smiled genuinely for the first time. 'A little scary to be around, slightly overprotective of you and I'm starting to wish I had a second pair of eyes in the back of my head, just in case he tries to sneak up on me, but I can understand his reasons.' He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. 'Oh, and, just for the record, I'm glad you didn't warn me about my impending arrest. Like I said, I don't want you caught up in this. And... I'm sorry- for everything.'

He hurried down the walkway and I turned, headed back towards Li's flat, feeling incredibly sombre. As soon as I opened the door, Mara's head snaked out from the end of the hallway. Her face fell.

'Just Amber,' she called over her shoulder, presumably to Hex.

'So no sign of Li?' I asked sadly, making my way down to her.

She shook her head. 'Where the hell are they? First Paulo, then Alex, Neil-' her voice broke '-and now Li. They've been kidnapped, haven't they?' The thought had been in the back of all of our minds, but we'd pushed it away, had never actually said those exact words out loud. Now, though... We couldn't exactly ignore the possibility anymore. The reality. 'Well, we already know Paulo has- that's a given. But...' She sighed and planted her elbow on the back of the couch, resting her head against her palm.

I put an arm around her shoulder. 'Maybe there's a perfectly logical explanation for this.'

'Like what?'

Hex bustled into the room, caught sight of me and frowned. 'Where did you get to?'

'Just having a look around outside. You know... Checking.'

'Right...' He gave me a funny look and then flicked a small white piece of card at me.

'What's this?' I read the card. 'HPW Indust- That's Hart's business. Where did you find this?'

'In the kitchen.'

Mara took the card off me. 'So what's it doing here?' Her jaw set and an angry, determined glint in her eyes, Mara looked from me to Hex and back at the card again. 'They've got them. At this office block. They must have dropped a card.'

'Oh great,' Hex groaned, rubbing his forehead. 'Just one quick question: what's the chance that they "accidentally" dropped this card onto the kitchen bench, propped up against a bag of apples?'

'So they put it there deliberately?' I asked him. He nodded as Mara handed the card back to him.

'It's got to be a trap,' she said.

'Yeah,' Hex murmured. 'But who for? Something about this... It doesn't feel right.'

I scoffed. 'You're _so_ perceptive. When has this _ever_ felt right?'

'Point. So what do we do? Walk in there? It'd be good if we knew why they kidnapped Neil, Li and Alex.'

'Don't forget Paulo,' Mara reminded him.

'And Paulo- but that was probably just over the undercover thing.' Hex frowned and then looked pained. 'We'll have to go in, take a look around. Undercover. I'm sure I can rustle up a couple of those worker jumpsuit things.'

'Two of us should go in,' Mara said. 'Amber and I.'

'Hang on, let's just think this-'

'No, Hex,' she insisted. 'It's perfect. Amber and I can go in, have a look around- no one there will recognise us. You'll have to help us bypass security. Can you tap into whatever controls the doors, cameras, stuff like that?'

Hex paused for a second and then, slowly, nodded his head, still frowning. 'As plans go, this one stinks.'

'It's the only one we've got,' I said, shrugging. 'What else are we meant to do- just sit back and do nothing?'


	35. Chapter Thirty Four

**Chapter Thirty Four**

_**Paulo**_

**

* * *

**

They weren't taking any more chances with me. Scowling and muttering under his breath, Payton yanked my arms behind my back as West stood to one side, looking everywhere but at me. I was still dazed, distracted by the last image on the screen. Never in my life had I wanted a machine to have malfunctioned as badly as I did just then. I wanted someone to correct me and say that it was faulty and instead of reading the future it read our worst fears or something along those lines. But no matter how hard I tried to make myself believe it, no matter how much I wanted the image gone from my mind, it was still there, making me feel sick and worried and angry all at the same time.

There was a sharp _click_ as Payton secured handcuffs around my wrists. He tightened the cuffs until they were snug against my skin, then stepped back, satisfied.

'Try getting out of that, Houdini,' he challenged, a smug smile on his face. I don't know what he was so cocky about; his pathetic excuse for a knot was the only reason I'd managed to untie myself last time. He turned to West, held a hand out. Something was passed between them, Payton stepped forward, jabbed at my arm and then I blacked out.

**

* * *

**

When I regained consciousness- minutes, hours, days later; I had no idea- I felt like someone had clubbed me over the head with a hefty piece of timber. My throat was dry, vision blurry, and the sounds around me were muffled, as though I was underwater. Someone crouched down beside me. The rim of a cup touched my lips. Water.

As the fog retreated from my head, I recognised the face close to mine. I smiled, completely relieved.

'Li. You're okay?'

She shrugged. 'I suppose so.' She looked at me in concern. 'It's you I'm more worried about. They drugged you with something- pretty strong stuff as well by the looks of you.'

I was still trying to process the situation; glancing behind Li, my hopes fell. Hart, Payton, West and Fryer were standing not thirty feet away, watching us closely. Beside Hart stood Alex and Neil, their wrists tied with rope, expressions murderous- in Alex's case, Hart was on the receiving end of the glare and I doubted that the anger was just from our kidnapping- and worried.

Li had stopped talking and was watching me with a frown. I was struggling to sort through everything, with just one image still slotted firmly into my mind. I wasn't sure what to do- part of me wanted to tell her what I'd seen, part of me wanted to forget about it. Still gripped by indecision, I watched as Payton strode forwards and took hold of Li's arm, dragging her to her feet.

'He's fine,' he told her flatly. 'Back with the others.'

Shooting me a final glance, Li moved back to Alex and Neil where her wrists were knotted together with rope. There was what appeared to be a discussion between Payton and Hart before the three of them were moved to a second pole directly opposite me but on the other side of the room.

'Now, I'd like to-' Hart stopped abruptly as a sudden ringing cut him off. Frowning, he fished in his pocket, pulled out a mobile and checked the screen. He paled, muttered, 'I've got to take this. Go ahead, Alistair,' and left.

Payton looked unsure about being left in charge. Tugging on his collar, he stepped forward and tried to glare between both groups. 'Okay. How much do you know?'

'About what?' Li asked, smirking. 'That-' she nodded in the direction of the huge screen '-you, Hart, the other pathetic idiots involved, Helton... Be a bit more specific.'

I heard Payton's teeth grind; his eyebrows snapped together in a very annoyed scowl. 'Forget it. Don't even bother.' He spun on his heel and stalked back towards West who was hovering in the background. 'Lucas can deal with them. Unless you-'

'No,' West said quickly, stepping back. 'Thank you, but no. I agree. Lucas can deal with them.'

There was a sudden scraping sound and the second door swung open to reveal a perplexed Hart and, walking slightly behind him- I shot a quick glance at Alex, but he hadn't seen who was accompanying Hart into the room. She didn't see him either, that is until Hart stopped and she turned around, looking just as puzzled as he did.

'Lucas, what's-' Laura's eyes widened; she stared at Alex, frozen, then turned to Hart. 'What's going on?'

Hart didn't answer and Laura abandoned any hope of getting an explanation, moving straight for Alex. She knelt by his side, hand on his knee, but before either of them could say anything else, Payton leapt forward and grabbed Laura.

'Hey!' she protested as he dragged her backwards.

'Oi! Leave her alone!' Alex sounded very, _very_ angry. He struggled against the ropes tying him to the pole, but the effort was pointless; Payton hadn't made the same mistake twice.

'Lucas!' Laura, still restrained by a smug Payton, stared at Hart, both confused and scared. 'What is this? What's going on?'

Shaking his head, Hart said sadly, more to himself than to anyone else, 'He was right. Again.'

'_Lucas_-'

'What do I do with her?' Payton said, interrupting Laura. He indicated the pole I was tied to. 'Spare space over there.'

Hart rubbed his forehead, stressed. 'Er... Yeah. Put her there for the moment. I'll have to think of... I'll have to go ask him what to do.'

'He's not going to be happy with you,' Payton warned, pushing Laura in my direction, and Hart rolled his eyes, but there was fear behind the flippant arrogance. He was terrified of his boss, that much was clear.

Before he could move, the second door swung open yet again and in walked Hurst and two people clad in worker's jumpsuits.

'Wait there,' Hurst barked to the two workers. They nodded and stood quietly at the back of the room. There was something familiar about them both, but I only realised when the one closest to the door lifted her head.

Mara.

That meant the second "worker" was- She, too, lifted her head up and looked at me. Yep. Amber. So were the two of them undercover, sussing out the situation? Hex wouldn't have been too happy about that, but I bet he hadn't had a lot of choice in the matter. It was while I was looking at Amber and Mara that I realised they were no longer looking back at me, but at a point behind me and to my right. Mara's lips moved silently; I turned my head, unnerved by the expressions on not only their faces but on Alex's, Li's, Neil's, Hart's- everyone's.

As soon as I saw who was standing by the first doorway, I understood their reactions.

Things weren't looking good- and they'd suddenly just got a whole lot worse.


	36. Chapter Thirty Five

**Chapter Thirty Five**

_**Hex**_

**

* * *

**

I wasn't happy with the plan. Not one little bit.

'Head left,' I said bluntly into the microphone. I heard an answering sigh.

'Hex, get over it.' Amber.

'I'll get over it when you're both back in the van. Hurry up. Take a right.'

I waited, tracking the two tiny red dots blipping along on my palmtop screen. They continued up the hallway, stopping at the end.

'Locked door,' Mara said, her voice sounding muffled through the headset. 'Can you-'

'I'm not in the bloody van for decoration.' I turned away from my palmtop, focusing instead on the laptop behind me. I found the door they were stuck at, overrode the locking system and said, 'All clear,' into my mic.

Back on the tracking screen, Mara and Amber's dots had started moving again. They were meant to be searching for anything that could pinpoint where our friends had been taken, but so far had drawn a blank. It was a strange block of offices, with the majority being empty except for hoards of dust bunnies. Barely anyone was around as well, but I put that down to the late hour.

'Uh oh,' Amber breathed. 'People are coming.'

I checked the laptop again quickly, noticing that, yes, someone had just swiped themselves through a door down the hall and to the left of where Amber and Mara were.

'Go right, down the hall. Quickly.'

Their dots swiftly moved in the direction I'd said and, I noticed in relief, whoever had been in the hallway headed in the opposite direction, moving through a door at the far end of the corridor. That was another odd thing about the building; so many locked doors that required a code or card to access. It wasn't what you'd typically find in an office block, but maybe the people who worked there were just paranoid. I hoped that was all the excessive security indicated, and not something more sinister. Still though, I couldn't help but wonder whether they had something to hide. No one went so high tech unless it was absolutely necessary; it was costly and, as the constant security doors proved, annoying.

'Another locked one,' Mara informed me wearily.

'Got it.'

Once I'd opened the door for them, there was a pause before Amber hissed, loudly, 'This must be Hart's office.'

'Fantastic, but keep your voice down, for crying out loud.' I frowned at the screen, but, obviously, she couldn't see me.

'Yeah, yeah,' she said dismissively. 'Should we have a look?'

Their dots were already moving further into the room, so they'd obviously made up their minds without my input. I felt like adding my own two cents, just for the hell of it.

'Fine, but make it quick.'

For once, they listened. After just a five minute search- and yes, I was timing- the dots started back out of the room.

'Nothing in there,' Mara told me once they were on the move again. 'It's completely empty.'

A decoy? But why would Hart hide his real, legit business away?

'Hey,' I said slowly. 'What if Hart's business is just another front? Like, it exists, but it doesn't. Get what I mean?'

I thought I heard a chuckle. 'Ah, surprisingly not, Hex,' Amber said, and I could almost hear the eye roll she was sure to be doing.

'I mean- Hang on.' I reached across and pulled my ringing phone from where it had been sitting on Amber's coat. 'Hello?'

'Where are you?'

'Sorry,' I said, baffled. 'Who's this?'

There was a nervous cough. 'Jasper.'

My jaw clenched. 'What do you want?'

'Where are you?'

'Why do you want to know?'

'Because I need to talk to you- and Annie.'

'It's Amber, actually. And why?'

There was a frustrated sigh. 'Listen to me, will you?'

'No. Give me one good reason why I should trust you.'

'I'm not asking you to trust me, just _listen_.'

Despite my complete loathing of Price, I knew Amber still had some sort of friendship with him- warped though it seemed. I knew she still sort of trusted his judgement and I trusted her. And he _had_ helped us.

'Across from the office block on Turner Street,' I answered grudgingly. 'Black van.'

'Turner Street?'

'Yes.'

Just before I hung up I thought I heard him swear, but brushed the observation aside. I had more important things to worry about than Price's gutter mouth.

'How're you going?' I asked.

'Still no joy,' Mara said, her calm tone forced. She was getting worked up again, not the best frame of mind to be in when undercover. 'We're going to head back down to the lobby and try the back section.'

I consulted my layout map. 'There's nothing there.'

'Still. We're going to check.'

'I'm telling you, Mara- there's no point. It's an empty section. Just head back to the van and-'

There was a hiss of static and the sudden, ear splitting whine of feedback. I ripped the headset off, my head ringing. It was a few seconds before I was game enough to replace it over my head again.

'What was that?' I asked.

No answer.

'Amber?'

No answer.

'Mara?'

Silence.

I checked the tracking screen, finding their dots had disappeared. I clicked down a floor and found them crossing the lobby. Didn't they realise something had happened with the microphones and we had no contact? Obviously not. They continued across the lobby, moving towards the back of the building and then, suddenly, their dots disappeared.

'Shit.'

I clicked up a floor, down a floor, found nothing and then abandoned the tracking system all together, replacing my palmtop with the laptop. Within a few minutes I had the live feed from the lobby cameras playing in front of me. It hadn't taken that long, but in mess we were caught up in, a few seconds could be just that bit too late.

First camera, second camera, third camera... The fourth camera brought relief flooding through me. Mara and Amber were caught in the very top of the frame, standing in front of what looked like a door. As I watched, Mara reached out and tried the handle. It didn't seem to budge and she stepped back. I tried the microphone again and got no response.

Just as I was about to throw our plan in the bin and march on in there, there was a loud _bang_. I spun around, startled, wondering how I was going to explain the numerous pieces of technology strewn around me and the camera feed on the laptop. But I needn't have worried.

Price crashed through the van doors in a complete panic.

'What's going-'

I didn't get a chance to finish as he caught sight of the security footage, at Mara and Amber by the inaccessible door.

'Get them out,' he shouted, eyes wild.

'What the hell?'

He leapt at me, snatched for my shoulders and shook me hard. 'Get- them- out,' he demanded. '_Now_!'

On screen, someone had come up to Amber and Mara. They started talking. Price was hyperventilating. I was torn between watching the screen and finding out why Price was acting so strangely.

'Hex,' he yelled- the use of my name, which I hadn't thought he knew, got my attention more than his volume or tone. 'For God's sake, _listen_.'

'I don't know what you're trying to say,' I snapped.

'You need to get them out of there. I was right,' he said urgently. 'It's a trap. She didn't listen to me. She should have _bloody_ listened.'

The blood drained from my face and ran, icy cold, through my veins. 'What?'

'It's Colin. My old boss. He's the head guy. He knows about you lot and-' his voice faltered '-he wants to kill her.'

'Who?' The person had opened the door up; Mara and Amber started heading down what seemed to be a staircase. My hand clenched the microphone by my mouth, but the headset was still silent, dead. Price paled and didn't answer, his face frozen, eyes fixed on the screen. 'Price! _Who_?'

'Amber,' he said, snapping out of it and using her actual name for the first time. I felt sick. 'He's going to kill Amber.'


	37. Chapter Thirty Six

**Chapter Thirty Six**

_**Amber**_

**

* * *

**

The door in the far wall opened.

'Holy shit,' Mara hissed, then clapped a hand over her mouth and looked around as though to check that no one had heard her. I gave her a swift, yet subtle, jab in the ribs and she slipped back into her role, wiping her face of all emotion.

Colin's eyebrows were drawn together in an annoyed frown as he stalked into the room. I snuck a quick glance at my friends and checked their reactions; they were all staring at him in shock, so I gathered that this was his first appearance in the basement. Mara twitched and I lowered my head, pulling my cap further over my eyes; I didn't want him to recognise me.

Waving a hand in our direction, Colin said, 'Your services are no longer required. Get out.' His voice shocked me; it was no longer smooth, but a harsh rasp, though the authority was still there. He still didn't need to try and intimidate people; just opening his mouth had made Jasper start shaking with fright.

We both hesitated before spinning around and heading for the door, Hurst herding us along. He unlocked the door and shoved us out into the corridor. Mara and I exchanged worried looks, but forced ourselves to walk calmly up the hall and the stairs at the far end. As we reached the top and Mara pushed open the heavy door, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I stopped to answer it, waving Mara on ahead.

'Go tell Hex,' I said softly. 'I'll catch up.'

'Okay. Hurry up, though.' She disappeared, leaving me standing halfway up the stairs, my phone now pressed to my ear.

'Hello?' I said.

'Amber.' Colin's grating voice made me shudder. 'How nice to hear from you again.'

'What do you want?' I hissed.

'I want to make a deal, propose a trade.' I could hear the smile behind his words.

'What sort of trade?'

Colin tutted. 'I think you know, Amber. Don't play silly, childish games, please. That's beneath both of us.'

'What sort of trade?' I repeated, my tone firmer.

'I have a few friends of yours, though I'm sure you already know that, yes? Considering you were all just in the same room, you'd had to have been blind to miss them.'

'You knew?' I asked, incredulous. 'Why did you let us go?'

'All part of the plan,' Colin answered, chuckling slightly. 'So, will you agree to come back here?'

'You'll let my friends go?'

'Naturally.'

I didn't believe a word he was saying. 'How do I know you're telling the truth?'

'You don't, of course. But, just to add another little incentive, should you decide to ignore this offer and continue on your merry way, I will not hesitate to shoot your friends, one... by... one. So, Miss Middleton. What's it going to be?'

He wasn't joking, that much I was sure of. My left hand trailed down my side, coming to rest on the loaded gun strapped to my leg. I had a chance, albeit a very slight one, of gaining the upper hand and taking control of the situation. I had to take it.

'I'm coming,' I said, and ended the call.

**

* * *

**

The room was just about empty when I pushed open the door and stepped inside for the second time. My friends were still tied up in the- My eyes narrowed. Just Li and Neil remained.

Colin's voice floated towards me. 'Good evening, Amber.' He followed my gaze and grinned. 'Ah. Yes. Your other... friends, have been relocated. Don't worry, they're perfectly fine.'

Just the four of us- me, Colin, Li and Neil- were in the room. Where Colin's chums had got to I had no idea, and at that moment I didn't really care; the situation was most definitely tipped my way, especially since it didn't look like Colin was armed. As an added bonus, he was nowhere near Li and Neil, so he couldn't use them as bargaining chips.

I'd kept the hand holding the gun behind my back ever since I'd stepped into the room, but now I brought it around and held it in front of me, aimed at Colin.

He gave a brief chuckle and sneered at me. 'You wouldn't dare.'

'Oh really?' I growled. 'You wanna bet?'

His confidence wavered slightly; perhaps he'd finally realised that yes, the thing in my hands was an actual gun, or maybe he'd started to pick up on the aggressive glint in my eyes. If he had of moved a foot, or even_ looked _like he was going to move a foot, I would have shot him. No hesitation, no questions asked. It was almost scary, the surge of pure hatred I felt flow through my body. Never- and I mean _never_- had I felt such complete and total loathing for anyone or anything in my entire life. Had I been given a choice out of who to hug, him or Abigail, I'd have chosen the latter in a heartbeat. And that's saying something.

'I want some answers,' I continued, still keeping the threatening undertone in my voice. 'You know Abigail Newton, don't you?'

'Ah,' Colin said fondly- and willingly, I noticed with slight suspicion. 'Yes. Dear Abi. She's a close friend of my family's, almost an older sister I suppose. She's here, down the hall somewhere, if you want to say hello.'

'I think I'll pass. So, this was all a set up, then? You knew right from the start who we were- who Li and Paulo were- and what we were doing? Does this machine even work, or is it all fake?'

Colin shook his head. 'Oh no. I only became aware of the whole situation five days ago, I think. See, Parker let me know that Lucas had made some new friends, so I sent him to see Abi, get them checked out. She realised who they were and informed me, since Hart had failed to. Incompetent little sod. When I found out he was entertaining MI5 officers, naturally I was a tiny bit annoyed and also concerned; Abi wasn't sure how much Lucas had told your friends or what you knew. So I informed Lucas he had a couple of spies in his midst and the rest, as they say, is history.'

'And the machine?'

'It works, as your friend Paulo will tell you. I do believe he had a bad experience with it, saw something a little less than pleasant.' The sadistic grin was back.

I had a sudden urge to rain on his parade. 'So you figured you'd kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Stamp out the spies and get revenge on me at the same time.'

'Correct.'

'Well, Colin,' I said, smirking as well. 'I have a little bit of news for you.'

'Oh?'

'Yes. The person you're seeking revenge for is on our side.'

Colin's face clouded with confusion. 'What?'

'Jasper was the one who gave us all the initial evidence. Jasper escaped from prison to ensure that the people making this machine- you and your pathetic followers- were stopped. Jasper has been working alongside me, and my friends, from the very beginning of this little mission.'

'You're lying,' he snarled.

'Once again, Colin, you wanna bet?'

He stayed silent and I laughed, a high pitched, hysterical sound that echoed around the almost empty room.

'Dear little Abi forgot to mention that? Must've slipped her mind. Then again though, maybe she wanted to protect him. After all, because of Jasper, because of what he did, she was set to blaze straight into head office at MI5. She's gotta respect that, right?'

Colin seemed to regain some of his confidence. He gave me a patronising look. 'You and your friends do enjoy making wild assumptions, don't you?'

'They're not so much assumptions as facts.'

'Evidence?'

I hesitated and he laughed.

'Didn't think so. You're all talk- you know nothing. You don't scare me.'

Shifting the gun so it was aimed at a point slightly to his right, I pulled the trigger. The bullet shot past him, the bang sounding deafeningly loud. Colin didn't even flinch.

'And that just proves your immaturity,' he said flatly. 'Grow up, Miss Middleton.'

I was tired of the banter so I strode forward and jammed the gun hard against his temple. His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, but other than that not a flicker of emotion crossed his face.

'Untie Li and Neil,' I said, making sure my voice was soft- sometimes the quiet approach worked best. Colin's eyes flickered anxiously so I gathered my tone had unnerved him slightly, especially since I'd proved to be so trigger happy barely a minute before. 'Quickly.'

He obeyed, releasing Neil first. He leapt away from Colin and rubbed at his wrists where the ropes had bit into his flesh, rubbing the skin raw. Li looked like she was having a hard time refraining from kicking Colin into next week. When she was finally free, Li eagerly seized the ropes and looked to me for conformation.

'Tie him up?' she asked hopefully.

I nodded and, with a gleeful grin, she pushed him roughly to the ground. Neil stepped forward and looped the ropes that had bound him around Colin's ankles. Li made short work of tying his wrists together and then, just for good measure, knotted a gag over his mouth. Colin glowered at the three of us and jerked angrily. I was certain he was mouthing some less than nice things to us, but since we could neither hear him nor see his mouth move, the affect was wasted.

Turning to Neil, I said in a low voice, 'You need to go get help. Hex is in the black van across the road. Tell him what's happened and get him to call it in. Make sure Mara's there as well; if she's not, we've got an even bigger problem.'

Neil looked from me to Li to Colin. 'You sure?'

I nodded and gave him a gentle push towards the door. 'Quickly. Li and I'll find the others.'

Colin twisted on the floor. We all ignored him. Neil left, throwing a final worried glance over his shoulder before he disappeared through the basement door.

Li was bouncing on the balls of her feet, a coiled mass of restrained energy and anxiety. 'We need to go find them,' she insisted.

'In a second.' My attention turned back to Colin again. 'What're we going to do with him?' I asked Li.

'Leave him here. Let the police deal with him.'

'Is that a good idea? What if he-'

'Look, Amber,' Li said quite sharply, 'he's tied up. He's fine. He's not going anywhere. We_ need _to go and look for the others.'

Reluctantly I agreed, not feeling one hundred per cent confident about leaving Colin unguarded. But Li was right; we had no idea how big the basement was, where our friends had been taken or even if they were okay. They had to be our first priority.

Li and I raced through the first few hallways, slowing down when we came to the worrying conclusion that we had absolutely no idea where we were going. Li was breathing hard, though I don't think exertion had anything to do with it.

'If I had hostages and a huge underground lair, where would I put them?' she mused, tapping a finger against her chin.

'Out of the way,' I said, though I wasn't sure if her question was rhetorical, intended for me or just a way for her to try and calm down. 'Somewhere they wouldn't be heard, seen or interrupt anything.'

'So... Where exactly?'

I grimaced. 'No idea.'

'Great,' Li said with a sigh. 'Just great.'

We set off again, slower this time, ensuring we checked every room we came across. There was a thick black marker in the pocket of my uniform and I used it to mark corridors we went down and rooms we'd searched. We'd just made our way back up a hallway after encountering yet another dead end when we happened across the last person we'd been expecting to see. Well, maybe not "expecting to see" but more "wanting to see".

'Well, well, well,' Abigail said with a smirk the size of Iceland plastered across her face. 'What a lovely- if a tad unexpected- surprise.'

'Am I detecting a river of sarcasm?'

Abigail's smirk wavered as she glared at Li. 'You mind your manners, Cheong. I'm still your superior officer.'

'No you're not,' Li said, startling both me and Abigail. 'As of tomorrow, I'm handing in my notice. Even when you're sitting behind bars, I don't think the Secret Service is for me. Not anymore.'

At the reference to her being arrested, Abigail had tensed up and stopped paying attention. She hissed out something I couldn't understand- perhaps a string of cussing in some foreign language I didn't know- and, before I could blink, pulled out a gun.

'Duck,' I yelled, crashing sideways into Li. We hit the floor just as Abigail fired. She'd obviously counted on us diving out of the way because she aimed so low the bullet just made it over my back. I could feel the heat, adrenaline start pumping. My heart rate sky rocketed and I drew my own gun, finger poised over the trigger, and pointed it straight at Abigail; I was still lying on the floor, one of Li's legs trapped under me.

'Going to shoot me, are you, Middleton?'

'Don't tempt me,' I growled. 'I've already had this conversation with your buddy Colin.'

Abigail paled just a tiny bit and I felt a surge of sadistic pleasure, enjoying watching her squirm.

'Oh yes. He's confirmed our suspicions. You and him go way back, isn't that right? Almost like an older sister to him, you are. Or so he said. Colin was very disappointed to hear you neglected to inform him that Jasper Price was helping us investigate.'

'Price didn't know Colin was involved.'

'I kind of gathered that, or he would have told us right from the start.'

Abigail scoffed. 'And what makes you so sure? How do you know that he wasn't just making the whole thing up to get you near Colin?'

'Because you just told me he didn't and the machine is out in the front room of this very basement.'

Her eyebrows snapped together in an annoyed scowl. 'Fine then. How_ did _you know this wasn't just some trap, a clever plan to get revenge?'

'I didn't,' I said simply. 'But I- I trust Jasper.' The words felt hollow, void of feeling. I didn't, really, especially since I was starting to get a bad feeling about Jasper and Abigail. He'd lied to me. Again.

'You trust an escaped murderer and drug dealer? You trust the person who killed your precious Harry Field?' She looked thoughtful then added, 'If I remember correctly he also tried to kill you. Twice, wasn't it?' A brief chuckle. 'And he's lied to you, obviously. Not the best friend in the world, is he?'

'What about you then?' I said, ignoring her last few sentences; I didn't need reminding, of any of that. 'Why didn't you let Colin know about Jasper? Protecting him? Why?'

'Enough questions,' she snapped, but it sounded half hearted; again, I felt suspicious. It was almost as though she _wanted_ to give me more information, just like Colin had. Still, I wanted some answers and seized the opportunity.

'No. Never enough questions. I want to know. Why?'

There was a long silence before she said, almost automatically, 'He's my foster brother.'

Li's eyes bugged out of her head. 'He's what?'

'My foster brother. My parents took him in when he was fifteen. I'd already left home by then, but I visited all the time.' She shrugged like this was the most normal occurrence in the world. Li was still struggling to get a grasp on the reality of the situation.

'Hang on, hang on,' she said, sounding flustered and waving her hands about. 'Your parents fostered Price?'

'Yes.'

'So you've known him for, what- almost ten years?'

'About that.' Abigail's finger twitched almost compulsively on the trigger. I steadied my own grip on my gun, clearing my throat to let her know I was watching her every move. She grimaced.

Li turned her head and looked up at me. I shifted so I wasn't crushing her legs quite so much, but that wasn't what she had on her mind.

'Did you know about this?'

Obviously my lack of emotion had triggered some questions. 'No. But it doesn't surprise me.' I gave a little, humourless laugh. 'Nothing much does anymore.'

With a quick glance at a fidgeting Abigail, Li hissed at me, 'What'd we do?'

'Keep her talking,' I muttered out of the corner of my mouth.

Abigail's gun jerked up and she took a step forward. 'Let's not have any secret discussions now.'

There was something different about her, something less ordered and restrained. For the first time we were seeing a side to Abigail that was so far removed from her usual upright, proper, demand respect persona it was almost unnerving. Her eyes occasionally darted left and right, as though she was checking for an escape route should the situation suddenly turn in our favour, all the while twitching her finger over the trigger. I swallowed nervously, not feeling that comfortable with her pointing the gun straight at me while idly caressing the very part of the weapon that could end my life in a split second.

'You introduced Jasper to Colin, didn't you?' I asked, just to fill the void and try and distract Abigail.

'Maybe.'

'So yes.'

'Maybe.'

I sighed; the conversation was going nowhere fast. 'So yes,' I repeated, continuing quickly before she could whack in another "maybe". 'You introduced the two of them, Colin let it slip that he knew Jasper's parents and it all went from there. Where do you fit in? Apart from being best friends with one of them and almost family to the other?'

For a moment I thought she wasn't going to answer, then Abigail said, 'I don't. I pull the occasional string, help organise the occasional gathering, set up the occasional decoy.'

'So you're a major part in their dealings. You use your contacts and position to keep their "business" running and the law off their backs. You organised for Gerard Helton's death to be faked and then a new identity made for him. No doubt you also helped Colin disappear just after Jasper was arrested.'

She gave me a sour look. 'You really get on my nerves, Middleton.'

'I'm not too fond of you either, Newton.'

We glowered at each other until Li stepped in.

'That whole act in your office- you had a go at Price, called him a murderer... You really sounded like you hated him._ Was _that an act?'

'Not in the slightest. I do hate Jasper. It broke my parents' hearts to hear he'd been arrested. After everything they did for him: they looked after him when no one else would; when everyone else had written him off as a hopeless case, they had faith in him. They cared about him. And how does the _bastard_ repay them? Getting into drug dealing, being involved in gang warfare, leaving his own child on my parents' doorstep-'

'His niece,' I cut in. Abigail looked blank so I added, 'Roxy's Jasper's niece. His- his sister's daughter.'

'Abandonment runs in the family then,' Abigail said bitterly, but there was a flicker of something else in her eyes, gone as quickly as it had arrived.

'She's dead, actually.' A lump rose in my throat but I forced it down. 'Jasper didn't want the same thing to happen to Roxy. Her dad and half sisters were murdered as well, before she was born. Jasper wanted to protect her so he took her to the only place he'd ever felt safe: your parents' house.'

Abigail was silent for so long that Li grew impatient with waiting for a response and started her own monologue: 'You obviously still care about Pr- Jasper,' she hastily corrected, her face screwed up like she'd just eaten something less than pleasant; I was starting to find my friend's inability to say Jasper's name a bit annoying. 'Don't you? I mean, if you didn't, you wouldn't have tried to protect him. You know Colin, you know what he does to people who double cross him. Look at Amber. You helped set up a trap for her, so he could get revenge. You didn't want that to happen to Pr-Jasper, did you?'

Once again, our words were met with silence. I was starting to want Abigail to say something- I didn't particularly care or mind what, just_ something. _She could have hurled abuse and I would have applauded. I just wanted a response.

Finally, Abigail said in a voice so quiet I barely could make out the words, 'I didn't tell Colin because it's not Jasper's fault he got caught up in all this. It's mine. I introduced them. I told Colin who Jasper's parents were.'

I couldn't resist a snarky comment. 'You total hypocrite. Getting mad at Jasper for "breaking your parents' hearts" when you're involved with the whole business as well- you've been a part of it for even longer than he had, I bet.' I scoffed. 'More like you're mad at him for getting caught.' Suddenly, it all made sense; I stared Abigail with a growing sense of disbelief. 'That's it, isn't it?' I said slowly. 'That's why you're so horrible to us. Because we helped investigate and get Jasper sentenced.'

Abigail sneered, but, once again, it was half hearted and more sad than scornful. 'Got it in one, Middleton. Not as dumb as you look then, are you?'

Not bothering to acknowledge her last sentence, I said, 'But you're also naturally bitchy. Right?'

With a low growl and a bullet shot just to my left, Abigail ended the conversation; I'd overstepped the mark and not even the new, anxious and- dare I say it- improved Abigail could ignore that. Li scrambled to the right, pulling her feet out from under me as she did so. I hesitated, in a crouch, unsure what the best position to be in was. Then, just as quickly as she'd appeared, Abigail left. Li and I remained frozen for a brief moment until it registered that she_ had_ actually gone; we got to our feet, slightly shakily, and Li started to the right, towards a hallway that had yet to be marked with pen. To my left was another unmarked hallway.

'Hang on,' I called. 'What about this one?'

'What about_ this _one?' Li slapped a hand against the wall next to the right hallway entrance.

I shrugged, scribbled a line on the wall next to each hall and we started off down our separate corridors. I thought nothing of splitting up, thinking that it was the best option: we could search twice the corridors in the same amount of time and increase our chances of finding our friends; I avoided thinking the words "still alive", determined to be positive and refusing to consider the possibility that we would find them in anything less than perfect health.

I didn't think anything wrong with splitting up and that was one of the worst mistakes I've ever made.

**

* * *

A/N Many thanks for the reviews I've been receiving; really makes my day :) Just two more chapters and an epilogue after this one to go before everything's wrapped up. Hang in there, guys; it's been a bit of a marathon, but we're finally getting there.  
**


	38. Chapter Thirty Seven

**Chapter Thirty Seven**

_**Li**_

**

* * *

**

The situation seemed even more hopeless, desperate, when I was running through the hallways by myself. At least when I'd been with Amber we'd made half-hearted jokes and it had seemed that maybe, together, we'd be able to find our friends and all get out okay.

Now... I wasn't so certain.

I was going in circles, I was sure of it, and my fear was confirmed when I stumbled into a black cross on the wall in front of me. So which way to go? Amber and I had already been down the corridor in front of me, so I went with instinct- though it hadn't helped me much so far- and swung right, travelling quickly along the hallway, so quickly in fact that I almost missed the doorway.

Pushing on the smooth wood, I found the door swung open easily. After a quick glance into the room, I decided that no one was in there and my time would be better spent looking elsewhere. I started to retreat, closing the door as I did, but a sudden, muffled cry stopped me in my tracks. I pushed the door fully open and saw, in the corner of the room, a lump under a sheet.

The lump moved.

I hurried over and pulled back the fabric. Laura's terrified face, wet with tears, stared back at me.

'Hello,' I said, as cheerfully as I could while removing her gag. She winced as the tap ripped off, but didn't make a sound. 'I'm Li, by the way. Nice to see you again, even if it is in... less than ideal circumstances.'

As I finished untying her, Laura sat up, inspecting her wrists. She was still crying, but it was like the tears were falling of their own accord; she didn't react, didn't even seem to notice that they were trickling down her cheeks. She looked at me suddenly, as though she wanted to catch me off guard.

'What's going on?' She'd asked Hart the same question two, three times and gotten no response. I couldn't even begin to imagine how terrified she must have been; we were all in the same boat, but at least we knew how we'd gotten there, what was happening, why we were being chased and tied up and separated. She didn't have a clue.

'It's a bit too complex to explain right now,' I said, apologetic, 'but I'm sure Alex would be more than happy to fill you once we find him and we're all safe and sound.'

She stood stiffly. 'Yes. He has some explaining to do.' The tears had stopped falling, her face was composed, and she was looking at the door. 'Let's get going then.'

As the two of us continued through the hallways, more cautious of being found now than I had been before, I decided I quite liked Laura. She was tough, tougher than I'd first thought. When everything was over, I would make it a priority to get to know her better, even if she and Alex didn't end up back together again- not that I doubted they would. She loved him, he loved her- obviously; that was enough. Wasn't it?

Laura suddenly doubled back, darting to a partly open door off the hallway. She leaned slightly into the room, then beckoned to me and moved out of sight. I arrived just as she was crouching down beside Alex, eyeing the ropes on his wrists and ankles.

'Sorry,' she said, but didn't sound like she meant it, then ripped the tape off his mouth. Alex gave a yelp, but stopped halfway through and clamped his lips shut as Laura sat back, satisfied. 'That's for lying to me, jerk.'

'You're okay, then,' Alex said dryly, though his face was obviously relieved, as Laura and I started to undo the knotted ropes. 'Have you found Paulo yet?'

I shook my head. 'No. Not yet. Amber I split up a little while back, though, so she might... What?' Alex was staring at me in horror.

'I thought Amber left with Mara.'

'She did, but she came back in. We tied Colin up and-'

'You tied him up?'

'Yes...' What was going on?

'So where's Amber now?'

'I don't know. We split up, like I said-'

'Did someone stay with Colin?'

'No, but-'

Alex swore and shook the ropes off his wrists impatiently as Laura stared at him in complete confusion. I didn't blame her; Alex wasn't making an ounce of sense.

'Care to explain, Alex?' I said as he stood.

'It was him. Colin. The phone call.'

Both Laura and I continued to stare at Alex, perplexed, but then, slowly, I realised.

'You mean... That message for Hex was-'

'-from him. Yep.' Alex swore again, started for the door, stopped, came back. 'Li- can you keep going by yourself? Try and find Paulo, I mean.'

I nodded.

'Okay. I'll take Laura outside and check if Amber's there. If she's not, I'll come back in and- What?'

Laura had cleared her throat, very loudly and very pointedly. 'Excuse me? "Take me outside"? I'm not a little kid, Alex, or some lost pet. We should just keep searching- all three of us; that way we've got three pairs of eyes to find Paulo _and_ Amber.'

'I think it'd be better if-'

'No, Alex.' Laura wasn't backing down and my respect for her shot up another few notches. 'I'm coming.'

After a moment of clear indecision, Alex relented. 'Fine. But _we're_-' he waved a hand from himself to Laura and back again '-sticking together.' He looked to me, but I anticipated his question before he could ask.

'I'm fine by myself. Like Laura said, we should have as many eyes keeping a look out as possible.'

There was something else Alex wanted to say, but he was hesitating, unsure, so I waited patiently. Finally, he said, 'If... How long should we go before we... before we head out?'

It was a tough call and one I didn't want to make. How could you put a time limit on the lives of two of your best friends? And what if we gave up after twenty minutes and they were just a minute away, down the next hall? I started to shake my head and say so, when Laura stepped in, shooting a sympathetic glance between both of us.

'Neither of you are going to decide, are you?' She didn't wait for our answers. 'No, of course not. How could you? It's hard, yes, but you need to be realistic. Li- you and Amber have already searched some of the rooms, haven't you?'

'Yeah. We put crosses on the wall for the ones we looked in.'

'Good. That makes it a lot easier.' A pause. 'So would half an hour be okay? Thirty minutes and then we get out and leave it up to the police or whoever?'

Alex and I looked at each other, neither wanting to be the first to say "yes". It felt horrible, wrong, to agree to what Laura was proposing, but I knew it made sense. We could only do as much as we could; we needed to accept that we had limits and going past those could put ourselves in danger and do neither Amber nor Paulo any favours.

I took a deep breath. 'Yeah. Okay. Thirty minutes. Then we get out.'

Alex murmured his agreement and we split up, him and Laura heading right, back down the way Laura and I had come from, while I hung a left and continued trotting along the hallway. I was heading deeper into the basement and the hallways were becoming more complex the further I went along. They were shorter with more twists and turns and interlocking each other almost constantly. My sense of direction was completely lost and I was starting to panic. I'd never be able to find Paulo, never be able to get out, never-

'Stop.'

I froze, mid step, one foot half off the ground. Slowly, I lowered it, then turned around, breathing a quiet sigh of relief as I saw who was behind me- just West, and he didn't look that confident. Then he pulled out a gun and my own confidence wavered; when it came to weapons, having someone who was quaking in their boots holding the trigger wasn't the most ideal situation.

'Riley,' I said softly. 'What are you doing?'

He frowned, eyes flicking.

'Here, I mean,' I continued, just as quiet. I inched forward. 'Caught up in this. You're not like them.' Another step; West was watching me closely, but he didn't seem to notice the decreasing distance between us. 'If you were like Hart, or Payton, or Hurst, or Adlam, or Fryer you would have shot me by now.'

'How do you know I won't?' His voice quavered, his hand holding the gun unsteady. I closed the final gap until I was standing just a foot in front of him. He wasn't focused, wasn't going to be quick enough to get the better of me.

'Because,' I whispered, 'I'm going to knock you flat.'

West frowned, then realised what I'd just said. Too late. By the time he thought to react, I'd grabbed his arm, the one holding the gun, and twisted it up behind his back; I flung a foot out and tripped him over. He landed on the floor with a _crash_ and I quickly dropped down to kneel on his back, still gripping his wrist tightly.

Li: two. West: nil.

Oh. Yeah.

I lowered my head so my lips were beside his ear.

'You're just as bad as them,' I murmured. 'You're a coward. You deserve everything that's coming your way. And believe me,' I added as he swallowed hard, 'it's not going to be pretty. Now, you're going to get up nice and slowly and we're going to go, _quietly_, along the hall.'

Slipping the gun out of his unresisting grasp, I stood, nudging him with my foot as soon as I was upright. Scowling fiercely, West levered himself up off the ground and faced me. His mouth opened, but I jabbed the gun at him; his jaw snapped shut so quickly his teeth clacked sharply together.

'Remember, West,' I warned as we travelled down the hallway, me on the lookout for both a suitable place to put him and any of his buddies that might have been skulking about, 'not a sound.'

He nodded, obediently wordless, and we continued on, finally stumbling across a tiny room- more of a closet, actually- tucked away down an out-of-the-way hallway. The room was dark and dusty and had a pile of old cover sheets in the corner.

'Sit,' I told West and pointed to the wall beside the sheets; he did so and I tucked the gun into the waistband of my pants, shooting him a warning look. 'No funny stuff, alright? I'm not just some dopey chick with a gun and I _will _kill you if you even _think_ of moving an inch.' Just to make him feel even less comfortable, I added, 'And I wouldn't necessarily have to use the gun. Understand?'

West swallowed hard and nodded, sitting so still he didn't even look like he was breathing. Carefully, I crouched down next to him and started to rip one of the sheets, the one with the least holes, into long strips. As I started on a second sheet when half of the first just about disintegrated in my hands mid-rip, I decided to ask West a question.

'Do you know where Hart put Paulo?'

West looked confused and I mentally kicked myself; of course he wouldn't know Paulo's actual name.

'Enrico,' I corrected. 'The Latino guy. Where did Hart put him?'

He shrugged. 'He didn't put him anywhere.'

'I said no funny business, West.'

Hands held up, face panicked, he hurried to make me understand. 'I'm not. I'm not. Alistair took him, not Lucas.'

'Alistair?' I ran through the list of names tucked into my brain and eventually pulled out the surname. 'Payton? Alistair Payton?'

He nodded.

'Do you know where _he_ put Paulo?'

'No. Sorry,' he said, and actually sounded like he meant it. I felt my anger and frustration slip away slightly, the bit that remained redirecting towards Payton and leaving me almost feeling sorry for the scared young guy sitting beside me.

'Thank you,' I said softly. He looked surprised, then nodded hesitantly.

'No problem...'

Standing again, I dumped the pile of sheet strips beside me, selected a few of them and motioned for West to sit forward, away from the wall. I tied his wrists together, behind his back, knotting several strips of fabric together to make sure it held. I did the same to his ankles, then made a gag and secured it over his mouth. Taking hold of the gun again, I straightened up and left without a backwards glance, closing the door firmly behind me.

Jogging through the corridors again, I felt guilty, knowing that, perhaps, I'd subjected West to a slow death. If no one found him, if he didn't manage to get free, he'd starve to death in that tiny room. How old had Hex said he was? Nineteen? Twenty? The thought of using him as a hostage had crossed my mind, but only briefly; West wasn't important to Hart, Colin, Payton, Hurst, Fryer... All the people in power, all those that mattered, wouldn't give up their lives or freedom for him, and if I had of been behind him, with a gun pressed to his spine, I wouldn't have had any other option but to carry out my threat. So I'd given him a chance, albeit a very slim one. I was starting to realise why Amber didn't hate Price's guts. She'd spent so long with him, got so close to him, that the bad seemed to have almost faded. She could overlook it and remember how he'd looked after Roxy or saved her from being shot or been a complete wreck when Georgia died. I barely knew West, but still, he wasn't evil, rotten to the core. He wasn't even slightly nasty. He was a kid who'd made a really, _really_ stupid mistake and was paying for it. I just hoped it wouldn't be with his life.

Voices stopped me, once again, mid step. They were faint and staying at that level, so I gathered that whoever was talking, they weren't coming closer to me. I inched further down the corridor until I could hear them properly. Hart and Payton.

'What do you mean "he took your gun"?' Hart sounded furious- and concerned, though I doubted his worry was over Payton's safety. I felt a rush of relief flow through me; they had to be talking about Paulo. He was alive, he was okay, he'd escaped and he'd stolen Payton's gun. Now I just had to find him and we could both get out.

'He nearly knocked me out with some sort of martial arts move. Bloody hell, Lucas. Abigail didn't tell you about that, did she?'

'She didn't tell me anything,' Hart said, sounding ticked off. 'I heard it all from Colin or Parker. I didn't even know who she was until last week. _Riley_ probably knows more about her than me.' There was a very brief pause then Hart continued, almost shouting: 'Why the hell are we standing around here talking about some freaking spook when one of our hostages has escaped and is running around God knows where with a loaded gun?!'

'I'll go and sort it out?'

'You bloody well will, Alistair.'

Hart had completely and totally lost his cool, calm and collected self. There was the sound of quick footsteps, then silence, then more footsteps, slower and heavier this time. I didn't want to chance meeting them further up the hallway, so spun around and quickly retraced my steps. The further I went, the more aware I became that not only was I hopelessly lost, but the half hour deadline was rapidly approaching. Sticking to it was fine- in theory- but I had no idea how to find my way out of the maze of halls. Panicky, desperate sobs rose in my throat and wrapped around my chest. I ran faster, hit a dead end, moved back, another dead end... Each time I had to retrace my steps, each time I had to stop and think about where to go next, the faster my heart raced, the more hopeless everything seemed. I wanted out and then, suddenly, there was space in front of me.

I stumbled to a halt, blinking rapidly as my eyes adjusted from the brilliantly lit hallways to the dim lobby. The place seemed empty, the doors were just across the floor, but I didn't move. There was a chance Paulo had already made it out and I was the only one still inside the building, but there was also a chance he was still lost. The deadline had flown by, the very least of my worries now. I turned around, as though to head back into the corridors again, still undecided, but a voice from behind caused me to falter.

'Li, isn't it?'

I spun around so fast I nearly fell over. Colin was leaning heavily against the reception desk, but, as I turned to face him, he straightened up.

'I remember you now. The shopping mall. Start of the year.' He chuckled. 'Your boss.'

He walked towards me, casual yet determined, purposeful. I stood my ground, though I felt slightly unnerved.

'Why not?' he said, as though to himself, and stopped barely three feet in front of me. 'There is more than one to skin a cat, hmm?'

'What're you talking about?'

He gave what I'm sure was meant to be a reassuring smile, but did nothing to make me feel better. 'Don't worry your pretty little head off. You know... Li-' he flashed another smile, as fake as the first '-that I'm actually quite impressed by you and your band of merry accomplices. Very impressed, actually. You're a free climbing martial arts expert with a vast knowledge of all things with scales, fur, feathers, fins and fronds, yes?'

I didn't move a muscle, unsure what was going on.

'Your pal Amber is some sort of navigation guru and heir to a millionaire dollar business. Alex- survival extraordinaire, your leader; usually anyway, except for this time. But that's understandable, I suppose, given what happened. Hex can hack into any computer, any system, with his eyes closed and could crack a code before you or I could even wonder where to start. And Paulo, the medic, the mechanic, the one you couldn't do without and vice versa. Am I right?'

Still I stayed frozen, the gun in my hand forgotten. I could have shot him then and there- but I didn't. Something stopped me.

'It's almost a pity, you know,' Colin continued, edging closer. 'If only you were all on my side, if only things didn't have to end the way they will. Because it's sad, you know. Sad because what I'm going to do is going to wreck your lives, change them... For ever.'

'And what _are _you going to do?' I asked, making sure my voice was steady and sure.

Colin was still inching towards me. 'Oh, don't you worry about that, Li. Don't you worry about a thing. You see... I know how this'll all end. I know what's going to happen and I know how to make sure it _does _happen. Why do you think I let Hex overhear a conversation between my sister and Abi? Why do you think I let him find the file on Gerard? Why do you think I let you escape from Lucas' manor? Why do you think I only ordered that you, Neil and Alex be kidnapped, leaving the other three to mount a "rescue mission"? Why do you think I let Amber walk away when she was so close, so easy to kill? Because, Li,' he said softly, now just a few feet away from me, 'I need to make sure everything turns out _exactly_ as it should, _exactly _as it will.'

'Well sorry to upset you, but unless your divine plan involves you in jail you're going to be disappointed.'

Colin chuckled. 'You're the one that's going to be disappointed, Li.' Then he drove his fist into my stomach.

At first I thought that he'd had just punched me. I swayed on my feet, hands pressed to my abdomen, gun dropped to the ground and completely forgotten about, but figured I was simply winded and the feeling would pass in a second and I'd be alright. Then I looked up and saw Colin's grin, the knife in his hands, and I knew that I was _far_ from alright. Still grinning, he held the knife up for me to see the blood coating the blade.

My blood.


	39. Chapter Thirty Eight

**Chapter Thirty Eight**

_**Paulo**_

**

* * *

**

I entered the lobby just as Colin stepped back from Li; I hesitated, trying to make sense of the situation. Li held her hands against her stomach, but I didn't sense the immediate implications of what Colin had just done. As he grinned, though, I started to feel sick, and as he held the knife up and showed Li, I wanted to vomit.

Slowly, as though she was afraid of what she was going to find, Li took her hands away from her stomach. Even from the other side of the lobby, I could see her palms were red, as was the entire bottom of her t-shirt. She looked up at Colin, eyes wide, mouth open, and then collapsed.

'Li!' I took half a dozen quick steps forward, focused only on her.

Colin spun around, still grinning. 'This is turning into quite the party. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going. Social events aren't really my cup of tea.' He held the knife out in front of him, warning me. My eyes flickered past him to Li, lying on the floor, her eyes half closed, hands once again at her stomach. I didn't have time to deal with him.

As Colin drove the knife towards me, I pulled out the gun I'd taken off Payton as he'd tried to tie me up. Without considering anything other than the fact that he'd just stabbed Li and was about to do the same to me, I shot him. There was a moment of complete silence before he keeled forward, crashing to the ground. I didn't stop and check if he was still alive, just ran past him to where Li was. Gently, I rolled her over, onto her back.

'Hey,' I said softly, then pulled my jumper over my head; if I didn't get the bleeding to stop or, at the very least, slow, she didn't have a chance.

Li's eyes flickered open, her expression terrified. 'Oh,' she said, relaxing a little, though her face was still twisted into a grimace of pain and terror. 'Paulo. Where did you come from?'

I gestured behind me, then folded my jumper over into a square pad. Abandoning it beside me for a moment, I took hold of Li's hands and lifted them away from her stomach. She turned her head away, not wanting to look. Picking up the jumper again, I pressed it to the gash in her stomach, trying not to pay attention to her wince. With one hand still holding the make-shift pad in place, I fished out my cell phone with my free hand and punched in nine, nine, nine, ignoring the blood on my hand and now on my phone. It seemed to take forever to be put through and let the bored sounding lady on the other end of the line know where we were and what had happened, but finally she said, 'An ambulance is being dispatched as we speak. It'll be there as soon as possible.'

I hung up, feeling slightly relieved, but that feeling quickly vanished as I noticed Li's face had drained to a paper white sheen. Her breath was coming in shallow, quick gasps, face screwed up in an expression of pure agony. I looked down at my jumper; the once white wool was now a sickening shade of red, my hands almost completely coated in Li's blood.

'How bad?' Li asked, her voice hoarse.

'I've seen worse.'

She gave me a stern look.

'Pretty bad,' I admitted. 'But you'll be okay. You're the toughest person I know, Li. You've made it through everything.'

'Last time... I was stabbed, I was fine.'

I nodded firmly, not wanting to remind her of how close we'd come to losing her then. 'Exactly. You'll be fine,' I said, reassuring both of us, but my words sounded hollow. 'Just save your strength, okay?'

Li tried to smile, but her body suddenly started jerking as violent coughs ripped through her. Her hand found my arm and she dug her nails in as the coughing fit continued. I sat there, helpless, not even aware of the fact she was leaving deep indents in my skin with her nails. Finally, the fit passed and Li gave a relieved sigh- then she frowned, the hand not gripping my arm moving to her lips.

'Don't-' I started, but she'd already brushed her fingertips across her bottom lip and was moving them to eye level.

They were red.

'-look,' I finished weakly.

Li's eyes were huge with fear; her hand released my arm and fell to her side. 'I'm guessing that's... not good.'

'Not really,' I admitted softly. 'I'm so sorry, Li.'

'Why're you... apologising? You didn't stab me.'

'I'm useless. I can't do anything to-' I stopped, not wanting to say it, but Li picked up on my unspoken confession. Her eyes grew sad, but there was a hint of relief there as well. She understood, and that was what made it so much harder.

'Paulo?' she croaked. 'Am I gonna die? And don't lie. Please.'

I shook my head firmly. 'I can't answer that.'

'Yes... you can.' Her eyes pleaded with me, but I wasn't sure what she wanted me to say. I'm not sure even she knew what answer she wanted. 'Paulo?'

I swallowed hard and looked away. 'If- If the ambulance doesn't get here soon, then...' I trailed off, still not meeting her eyes. There was a shallow, hoarse laugh, followed by a wet cough.

'We finally get our act together... after all these years, and now...' She gave a tiny, bubbling laugh. 'We have the... the worst timing.' I felt her hand squeeze my arm again. 'Look at me. Please.'

I did so, trying not to react to the blood now coating her lips, flecking her face. She sighed then smiled- it was sad, resigned, but a smile all the same. I thought about forcing myself to smile back, but couldn't bring myself to; there was nothing remotely happy about the situation. We looked at each other for what seemed like both the longest and shortest moment of my life, then she sighed again. The tiny, almost hesitant smile was still there, lighting up her face but casting it into shadow at the same time.

'Thank you,' she whispered, then her eyes closed, and I knew that they'd never open again. Whether it was my imagination or not, but, as her eyes shut, the room seemed just that little bit darker, the chill in the air that tiny bit colder. It felt... quiet. So quiet.

For a little while I just sat there, holding her hand, not brave enough to say anything, to check. Then-

'Li?' I rubbed my thumb across the back of her hand, hoping for a response, but deep down knowing I wasn't going to get one. 'Li?'

It took me a few more minutes before I worked up to courage to slip two fingers onto her wrist. I held them there for the longest time, desperate for even the tiniest flicker of a pulse, but found nothing.

I didn't feel sad or angry or... anything. Just empty. It was horrible, hollow, and I wanted to cry or yell or something. Anything. But I couldn't, so I just sat there, still gripping Li's hand. It didn't seem real, possible, like I was trapped in some awful nightmare, with no way out.

Some time later the ambulance arrived and paramedics flowed through the doors. I wanted to say that they were too late, that they'd done nothing to try and save Li, but the words wouldn't form in my mouth. I stayed sitting until a paramedic came across and knelt down beside me.

'Come on, son. Let's get you out of here.'

I allowed myself to be pulled to my feet and led out of the lobby. As we exited the building, I found myself momentarily disorientated; it was meant to be night time and yet the surrounding area was flooded in bright light. It took a minute or two- by which time I was being ushered into the back of an ambulance- to realise that the light was coming from a combination of headlights, torch beams and the flood lights that were mounted on the outside of the building.

'Any injuries, dear?' A middle aged lady with a kind face and curly hair knelt down and peered at me, her eyes widening slightly at the blood drying on my hands, the specks on my t-shirt. I shook my head and she handed me a cup of something. I drank it without registering the taste then handed it back to her in return for a bowl of water and a cloth. As I wiped the blood off my hands, rinsed the cloth in the water, she bustled about, wrapping a blanket around my shoulders before heading out of the van to fetch another paramedic.

They asked me a multitude of questions- "Feel dizzy? Any nausea? How many fingers am I holding up?"- and I answered on autopilot- "No. None. Three, but one's actually a thumb"- feeling as though I was watching myself. I was completely detached from the situation, not really absorbing what was going on around me.

When they finally let me go I stumbled out of the ambulance and made my way over to a bench further down the street. From there I could still see everything that was happening, but it was quieter and darker. Over by two police officers were my friends- Amber, arguing with one of the officers, her eyebrows drawn together in a frustrated frown; his face void of emotion, Hex stood beside her, following the conversation and occasionally chipping in with something; Alex had his arm around Laura, their heads close together.

I didn't feel like talking to them at that moment so didn't raise a hand or call out. It didn't occur to me that they probably weren't even aware I'd come out of the building. I was still numb.

'Paulo!' Amber's voice was shrill and relieved. She frowned one last time at the police officers then hurried towards me, Hex close behind her. Alex started after them, then turned back as though wondering why Laura wasn't following. She gave a tiny shake of her head and gestured at me before walking away; Alex watched her go then trailed after Hex and Amber.

'You're okay?' Amber asked, giving me a tight hug. I forced myself to hug her back and nodded. She didn't seem to notice my lack of verbal response or blank expression on my face; Hex frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.

'What happened?' Alex said, sitting beside me on the bench. I just stared at my hands, still seeing and feeling imaginary blood drying on my palms, and swallowed hard. There was a heavy silence. 'You and Li didn't come out for ages, mate. We were getting worried.' He looked around as though realising, for the first time, that someone was missing. Someone was always going to be missing. Slowly, my friends' heads swivelled in my direction.

Amber was the one to ask the question I'd been dreading. 'Paulo... Where's Li?'

Once again, I didn't answer.

'Paulo,' Amber said urgently. She grabbed my shoulders and stared at me, pleading. '_Where's Li?_'

A sudden babble of shocked voices drew our attention to the front of the building. We watched as the crowd parted and two stretchers were wheeled out, white sheets covering them. Amber's hand flew to her mouth.

'Oh my God,' she whispered. She looked at me, as did Hex and Alex, the same desperate expression painted onto their faces, the same expression that said they were all begging for me to correct them.

'Li's- She's-' Like me, Alex didn't seem to be able to say it out loud. He let out a shaky breath and looked at me in shock.

'How?' Hex said quietly, disbelieving. 'I mean, what happened?'

My mouth felt dry but I found myself answering, my voice deadpan and eyes focused on the ground in front of me: 'He stabbed her.'

'Who? Who stabbed her?'

'Colin.'

Hex looked at me sharply, towards the ambulance and then back to me again. 'You killed him, didn't you? He stabbed Li, you-'

I nodded.

'Good on you,' he said sounding both bitter and satisfied. I couldn't have agreed less: revenge was everything but sweet; it'd never make the pain go away, it wasn't going to fix anything.

Once again, it was Amber who said what was on everyone's minds. Her tone was accusing, angry almost. 'So Li's really- This isn't some sick joke?'

'Do you really think I'd joke about something like this?' I snapped.

'No, I just-' She stopped abruptly as, with a choked sob, tears started to roll down her cheeks. Hex barely hesitated before pulling her close; she hugged him back so hard he looked like he was struggling to breath. He rested his chin on the top of her head, eyes closed.

I still hadn't started crying, even though it felt like I'd been ripped in two, like nothing would ever be okay again. Alex put his hand on my shoulder and said, in a low voice, 'Are you alright?'

I knew he wasn't talking about my physical condition this time. Briefly I thought about just nodding my head and hoping he'd leave it at that, but decided against lying- what was the point? He'd see through it anyway.

'Not really. In fact, I'm about as far from "alright" as you could possibly get.' I knew I sounded angry and I hoped Alex understood that my tone wasn't so much directed at him as to the situation. The whole rotten, unfair, stupid situation. I was also angry at myself- I should have done something, anything, to save Li, to protect her. But I hadn't.

There was another sob from Amber and suddenly her arms were around my neck and she was hugging me fiercely. As her tears soaked into the shoulder of my shirt, I felt a rush of sadness. Agony. Finally, tears started to fall from my eyes and drip onto Amber's head. She didn't seem to notice. Beside me, Alex put an arm around my shoulders, his head bowed. Hex's face was grey, horrified; he stood in front of us, hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched.

Li was gone. Everything had changed.

Everything had changed.


	40. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**

* * *

**

'Here.'

Paulo looked up from where he'd been rubbing polish into the saddle to find his father standing in front of him, a small box in his calloused hands. Dropping the cloth and resting the saddle on his knees, Paulo took the box.

'What is it?' he asked, hand hovering over the lid. A faint chirping could be heard.

'Don't open it here,' his dad warned, reaching to take the saddle so Paulo could stand up. 'Silly bird got into the house and tried to batter its way out of the kitchen window.' They listened as the insistent chirping grew in volume. 'Sounds like he's waking up.'

'What do I do with him?'

'Thought you might want to go for a bit of ride, let him go away from the house.' His dad smiled. 'Your mother was a bit distraught over finding him on the floor, blood all over the window. He should be fine, though. Just needs a chance to get over the shock.'

_Yeah_, Paulo thought, heading out to the round yard where his horse was waiting patiently. _Shock. It takes a little while. _

The morning sun was warm and pleasant against Paulo's back as he rode across the ranch paddocks, the box held firmly on the pommel in front of him. Every now and then the bird would start chirping again, then fall silent, restoring quiet to the ranges. When the bird's twittering began to reach what Paulo thought was an impatient, borderline annoyed pitch, he stopped and dismounted, making sure he didn't jolt the box and further upset the already temperamental.

Opening the lid, he caught sight of a flash of dull brown- a little sparrow. It looked up, saw Paulo peering back at it and set up a frenzied chatter. Smiling, Paulo carefully opened the box and held it on an angle away from him, so the sparrow would have no problem flying away. There was a pause, then the bird gave a final twitter and hopped out of the box, balancing carefully on the rim, looking at its surroundings with interest.

'Go on,' Paulo urged.

The bird hurled a barrage of angry chirping back at him- _I'm getting there. I'm getting there. Some people!_ - and then fluffed up its feathers, seeming quite happy to just sit on the box in the sun. Gently, Paulo gave it a little shake, and was rewarded with more indignant chirping.

Finally, the sparrow ruffled its feathers one more time then took off, flitting away, happy to be free once more. Paulo watched until the tiny bird disappeared from sight. He'd do that one day, he decided, swinging back into the saddle. Shake everything off and carry on. Birds were more resilient than people; the sparrow had smashed into a window a dozen times and almost been stood on, but there it went, soaring across the ranges without a worry in the world. People took a bit longer to pick up the pieces and keep going. But one day... It'd just take a little while.

**

* * *

**

Laura leant back in the chair, squinting against the glare. 'Hey, Alex? Can I ask you something?'

'Sure.'

She waited until he sat down next to her, a glass of water in his hand, before continuing: 'You know how we agreed to wait a few years, then get married, then have kids?'

'Yep,' Alex said, sipping at his water, the picture of relaxation. Laura waited a few extra seconds, wondering if he'd catch on, realise what she was going to say.

He didn't.

_Typical male_, she thought, trying not to sigh.

'Well,' she said slowly, head down, eyes focused on her feet stretched out towards the balcony railings, 'I was just wondering if that plan was set in stone.'

Alex looked at Laura, half confused, half weary. 'I thought we agreed. I don't even have a job at the moment, Laura, and we're living in-' He gestured about, waving a hand back behind him towards the balcony door and the three roomed flat they were currently living in. "Pokey" wasn't small enough to describe their living quarters.

'But what if, say, hypothetically, something happened that disrupted the plan. Would that be okay?'

Completely confused now, Alex frowned. 'What're you-' He stopped short as Laura, almost sheepishly, placed a hand over her stomach.

The glass dropped from Alex's hand.

**

* * *

**

A cool breeze blew gently across the graveyard, snatching at the bottom of Amber's long coat. She shivered, not sure if it was from the cold or something else, before crouching down beside a grave, one hand resting on the dew soaked grass to steady herself. Slowly, she reached into her coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. After a second's hesitation, Amber reached forward and carefully tucked the letter behind a vase of fresh flowers somebody- maybe Alex and Laura- had left there recently. She stayed there, hunched over beside the grave, until soft footsteps, the crunch of leaves, made her turn around sharply.

'Only me,' Hex said softly, coming to stand beside her.

Amber turned back around, her eyes lingering on the headstone. 'It still doesn't feel real, does it? Like... I don't know, she's just gone away for a while.' She faced him, peering up at his face, eyes sad. 'But she's not coming back, is she?'

Hex didn't answer, unsure what to say, but Amber hadn't been expecting a response. She knew already. She'd known ever since Paulo had been sitting on that bench, alone, upset. But she hadn't wanted to believe it.

The two of them stayed by the grave as the wind picked up, whirling around them with a desperate intensity and throwing discarded leaves up into the air. It was Hex who finally broke the silence.

'We should go,' he said, quiet, unsure. 'We'll miss the plane otherwise.'

Amber gave a tiny nod, but waited for a second longer before standing up. 'Can you give me a minute?'

As Hex crunched his way back across the grass to the car park, Amber stood beside Li's grave, eyes flickering over the inscription on the headstone but not really taking in the words. She hated how fresh the grave looked, how it seemed like only yesterday she'd cried her way through the funeral. The other graves, the ones that had been there for years, were overgrown and faded, like the hurt and sorrow those loved ones left behind had felt... Lived. She hated how she never seemed to be able to stop crying. She hated that one minute Li had been there, laughing, joking, teasing her and the next... Gone. She hated how unfair it was. She hated everything about the whole situation.

But there was nothing she could do, nothing anyone could do. Li was dead; there was no way to bring her back, no way to reverse the events of that awful night. She just had to cope with it, like everyone else. Cope and move on, just like Hex had told her to. She'd asked how to start and he'd said to just walk away, forget about it all. Could she do that though? Did she _want _to do that? Did she have a choice?

Taking a deep, shaking breath, Amber dug her hands into her coat pockets. It was time to leave.

**

* * *

**

_Dear Li,_

_To be honest, I'm not sure why I'm writing this letter. I had the paper out, pen in hand, ready to write a checklist and instead I'm scribbling this down. Not much point to it, is there? Great, now I'm crying. And the ink's running. And- Stuff it. You're never going to be able to read this anyway, are you? So why am I still writing? Maybe because I never got to say goodbye and this is as close as I'm going to be able to get. _

_I miss you, Li. We all do. Life's just not the same without you. It's like the sun's not as bright anymore, the day's aren't as warm, the world's slowed down. I know that sounds melodramatic, but it's true. It's not the same. It'll never be. You're gone, Paulo's back in Argentina, Hex and I are going to Boston, Alex is going to be a dad... It's all so scary, so different, and I'm not sure I like it. I want everything to be back the way it was, not just before we started the stupid investigation, but before I met Jasper, before we went to Australia, before our first MI5 mission, back when we were kids. Things were so simple- or they seem to be now we've gone through so many much more complex situations. _

_But maybe that's what growing up, growing older, is all about. You _have_ to deal with other things. You're not going to get older, though, are you, Li? That's what really sucks. We were all going on about West being so young, too young to be caught in such a messy business. But you were too young to have your life, your future, _everything_, taken away from you. It's _really_ not fair and I wish there was some committee, somewhere, that I go and see, ask them to rethink what they did. But there's not, is there? You really are gone for good. I think I'm finally starting to realise that now; it's taken me six bloody months to, but I think it's just starting to hit home. _

_I never thought I'd say this- though since I'm writing, does it count?- but I really miss you teasing me. And I miss teasing you, but you probably already guessed that, right? I miss stumbling out to my kitchen at some horrible hour to find you cluttering about, chirping away- uninvited of course. I miss not even being able to _look _at Hex without you sniggering in the background. I miss your cakes, the ones that we had to use for doorstops because no one could bite into them. I miss your seriously bad timing, always barging in at the worst- and most awkward- moments. I'm not going to give you an example; I'm sure you could think of _plenty_. I miss your inability to sit still for more than five minutes, even though it used to annoy the heck out of me. I'd give anything to be able to have you drag me off on some insane adventure. I miss you; I miss my best friend, my teacher, my confident, my sister. _

_We never did get to go climbing again. I'm trying to talk Hex into going with me, but he's not buying it. Since we're leaving for Boston in a matter of hours- back to the nine to five daily grind- I guess that's one thing I'm going to have to forget about. That's what _really_ scares me, though: forgetting. I don't want to forget anything, ever, but deep down I know I will. In a way, that's even a more terrifying thought than having everything change. Maybe that's another reason I'm writing this, because, while I still can, I want lock everything in stone, every memory, every argument, every joke. _

_Everything. _

_Love, _

_Amber_

**

* * *

**

**Operation Futura Case File**

**OFFICIAL DOCUMENT: PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL**

Six years prior to the investigation undertaken by MI5 officers Melvin Smith, Amber Middleton, Alexander Craig, Li Cheong, Paulo Varela, Mara Hunter and Neil Blake (please note that junior officer Ava Phillips was also partially involved in the case, as was Jasper Price- see attached section for further details or refer to case file for Operation Guava; also refer to individual files on mentioned officers), MI5 head officer Abigail Newton (attached file) organised physics teacher Gerard Helton's (attached file) fake death. Helton had been contracted by Callum Morris (see attached file for further details) to create a lens able to see around the curvature of the universe, the theory being that doing so would allow the viewer to see the future. Having drafted the plans and uncovered a plot to end his life, Helton no longer wished to make the transaction and Newton offered to help him disappear.

With Helton now under the new name of Michael Dwayne, Newton used her connections with MI5, MI6 and local police authorities to keep him under almost constant surveillance. Her goal- the only reason she offered to organise a new life and identity for Helton- was to have him finish the plans and then hand them over to Colin Mitchell (see attached file or refer to case file for Operation Guava) who was a close friend of hers. Mitchell, too, was devising plans, but these were for a machine that would utilise the lens Helton was trying to create. In the middle of this, Operation Guava (see case file) was put into action with Amber Middleton being placed undercover and told to form a relationship with Jasper Price, one of Mitchell's employees for his drug and trafficking business. Price was arrested following this investigation, Mitchell fled the country with Newton's help and the MI5 director at the time, Harry Field, was killed, allowing Newton to move into the position.

Whilst out of the country, Mitchell was in regular contact with Newton. She relayed information to him about the events that took place during Operation Guava and Mitchell vowed to get revenge on Middleton and Luis Zolkin (see case file on Operation Guava, in particular attached files on Zolkin and Georgia Price).

Mitchell returned to London to both begin the construction of his planned machine and carry out his threats on Middleton's and Zolkin's lives. Newton, along with Mitchell's sister, Ella Mitchell (see attached file), got in contact with businessmen who had had a brief association with Mitchell in the past and were wanting to assist in funding the machine: Parker Hurst, Lucas Hart, Riley West, Alistair Payton and Christopher Adlam (see attached files). Last to be contacted was Naomi Fryer (see attached file), a retired assassin Mitchell had used in the past. Hurst and E. Mitchell were Mitchell's go betweens for communication with Newton and it was through this connection that Newton was told to approach Helton. She did so and he was threatened for both the plans and his co-operation after a mutual agreement and arrangement started to fall through. Helton obliged and the plans were handed over to Mitchell. During this, security guard Seamus Thornton (see attached file) came across Fryer, Adlam and Hurst moving machine parts from a boat moored in the Thames to a warehouse. He was attacked, threatened, framed for the murder of fellow guard Keeley Donovan and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Price, in prison, came in contact with Thornton and, through him, learnt about the machine. Using his own contacts, Price was able to put together patchy evidence and leads. He was unaware that his old boss, Mitchell, was organising the construction of the machine, or that Newton was involved. After escaping from prison, Price contacted Middleton and handed over what evidence he had gathered. Middleton informed Blake, Smith, Varela, Cheong, Craig and Hunter about Price's assumptions and they decided to mount their own, unauthorised investigation.

Mitchell managed to track down Zolkin and Newton organised his murder, planting a story that he was a dangerous assassin. Investigations into whether Fryer was involved in any way with Zolkin's murder are still being conducted. Newton informed E. Mitchell, who relayed the information to Mitchell. Having successfully disposed of one of his targets, Mitchell turned his attention to Middleton, unaware that Price was in contact with her.

Cheong and Varela infiltrated the group of businessmen- Hart, Adlam, West, Hurst and Payton- assuming undercover roles; Cheong as rich heiress Elise Chang and Varela as Enrico Martinez, a young, potential entrepreneur. Hurst informed Mitchell about Hart's "new friends" and was then sent to meet Newton and exchange information. Newton, having been shown photos of Cheong and Varela, knew their true identities, but didn't inform Hurst, preferring to instead double check and then contact E. Mitchell. During this, Newton discovered that Price was potentially assisting in the investigation against Mitchell and the machine, though she neglected to inform anyone else other than E. Mitchell. Mitchell was told by his sister that not only was his 2IC entertaining two MI5 undercover officers, but that they were close friends with Middleton, his intended target. She didn't inform him of Price's involvement, assuming that Newton was going to do this.

Mitchell was concerned over these revelations and sent E. Mitchell to see Newton in person. It is believed that Smith overheard the end of this conversation, though whether Mitchell intended this or not is still unclear. Smith also discovered a very important yet poorly concealed file on Helton immediately following this event, so it is believed that this all may have been a set up. Inquiries are continuing.

Hart, after being informed of the true identities of Varela and Cheong, was told to continue as normal and invite Varela to a dinner at his manor to "discuss business". Hart did so, though it is believed that he may have tried to warn Varela through a message encoded in a crossword before the dinner took place. If this is the case, Varela either wasn't aware of the message or didn't interpret it correctly as he agreed to accompany Hart to his manor the following evening (the date for this meeting was actually moved to the following night; see below for further explanation). Fryer was also told to invite Cheong along as well, though she did this only hours before the actual meeting was supposed to take place. Cheong accepted the invitation.

Meanwhile, Helton had started to back away from his agreement with Mitchell. When it became clear that Helton was a potential leak, Hart was told to meet with him and assess the situation. So as to not frighten Helton off and make him behave, Mitchell insisted Hart meet Helton in a restaurant and have Hart's new girlfriend, Laura Bryant (see attached file), accompany him. Hart contacted Varela and moved the meeting to the following night. Hart and Helton met in the restaurant, the meeting seen but not heard by Varela and Craig who were undertaking surveillance on Helton.

After analysing the situation and Helton's frame of mind, Hart contacted Hurst, who in turn contacted Newton and informed her that Helton needed to be removed from the equation. Newton then organised Helton's murder, making it appear as though he had committed suicide, and ensured that her face was captured on the security footage as she left the scene. Smith accessed the footage and saw this section of tape; it is believed this was a further set up, as were the emails Smith located when he hacked into Newton's computer.

Hart, West, Hurst, Payton, Adlam and Fryer attended the dinner at Hart's manor, as did Varela and Cheong. Knowing that the latter two were undercover, the former all waited until the end of the meal before revealing this fact. The escape of Cheong- once again, this is believed to have been set up and ensured it happened- and capture of Varela followed. Varela was transported via a van to the office block on Turner Street where Hart, West and Payton's company, HPW Industries, was based along with, hidden in a secure basement, Mitchell's machine.

E. Mitchell organised for Craig, Blake and Cheong to be kidnapped from their respective flats, but before she could carry this out, Mitchell told Newton to confront the three of them along with Hunter, Middleton and Smith over their unauthorised mission. She did so and the officers parted ways; shortly afterwards, Craig, Blake and Cheong were kidnapped and taken to the office block where Varela was still being held.

Middleton, Smith and Hunter attempted to infiltrate the office block and locate the other officers, with Smith remaining stationed in a van outside the premises, overriding security systems to allow Middleton and Hunter access to sealed off areas. Hurst approached both women after Smith lost audio and tracking contact of them, pretending to be fooled by their disguises, and ordered them to accompany him to the basement and the machine. During this, Price arrived in the van where Smith was and attempted to warn him about Mitchell's involvement. It is, as yet, unclear when Price first became aware of Mitchell's role in events.

According to interviews, Mitchell, Hart and Hurst were aware that Middleton and Hunter were the two workers that Hurst brought into the basement. Just before this, Bryant was also taken to the basement by Hart after being collected from her flat by Newton and E. Mitchell and was then tied up alongside Varela due to her attempts to free Craig (see attached files on both Craig and Bryant for further information on this situation and its circumstances). For a reason that is still being uncovered, Mitchell ordered both Middleton and Hunter to leave, but then, barely minutes later, called Middleton's mobile and asked her to return to the basement, without Hunter, and exchange herself for her friends. After Middleton and Hunter left the room but before the former returned, Hart, Payton and West removed all hostages from the main room of the basement except for Blake and Cheong, tying them up in various rooms off a maze of corridors behind the machine. Varela managed to overpower Payton and take his gun at some stage, whilst Craig and Bryant were separated and tied up.

Middleton re-entered the basement and held an unarmed Mitchell at gunpoint, ordering him to release Cheong and Blake. Blake left the basement, returning to the van outside, and informed Smith, Price and Hunter on what had occurred, while Middleton and Cheong attempted to locate Craig, Bryant and Varela. Mitchell was tied up in the main basement area; he readily gave up important evidence beforehand (see attached files on Mitchell, Newton, E. Mitchell and Price).

During their search for the three missing officers, Middleton and Cheong came across an armed Newton. She, too, relinquished crucial information (see attached files on Newton, Price and Mitchell; brief reference to case file for Operation Guava, though the situation is not explained in much detail here). After leaving the two officers, Newton arrived back in the main basement, untying Mitchell before leaving with E. Mitchell. Both women were apprehended along with Hurst at an airport before they could leave the country.

Mitchell waited in the lobby for Cheong to emerge from the basement corridors, then stabbed her in the abdomen, piercing the lower section of her right lung. Varela arrived at the scene almost immediately after this and shot Mitchell, who died instantly. Cheong was dead before ambulance or police could arrive.

Hart, West, Adlam and Payton were arrested after they gave themselves up when faced with an armed police blockade. Fryer attempted to shoot her way out of the blockade, injured a police constable and was sub sequentially shot. She was hospitalised but died shortly afterwards. Price willing handed himself over to police as soon as they arrived on scene and was relocated to a maximum security prison. He has agreed to give vital evidence in court voluntarily. Price has also admitted to another seven murders committed by himself over the five and a half years immediately before he was originally arrested and jailed. Investigations into these continue with assistance from local and international authorities.

The circumstances regarding Mitchell's conduct throughout the later section of the events has led investigating officers to believe that his "future machine" actually worked at one stage and Mitchell was aware of how events would pan out. In an interview with E. Mitchell and a written statement by Hart, it is revealed that Mitchell had been hiding in America when he fled from the UK. Over there he continued dealing and trafficking drugs and weapons, resulting in friction between himself and rival groups. It is believed that the damage to his throat and vocal cords was inflicted by such a group and that had he been forced to leave the UK again, he would have been killed by these new enemies. Investigations into these claims are being conducted, with collaboration from American authorities.

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**A/N**

**I just realised I neglected to whack a disclaimer at the start of this fic. Woops. Here we go, then... I own absolutely nothing in this fic apart from the OCs (i.e. everyone other than Alpha Force). Yes. Unfortunately I don't own the amazing machine; I completely stole it off Paycheck :) Awesome movie, everyone should watch it. Right now.**

**Hopefully you enjoyed that fic; it was quite easily my favourite to write so far. I know I said at the start of this fic that it would be the last for my little "series", but my imagination has obviously had other ideas. There is a ninety five per cent chance that I will be writing the idea for number five (set after this one obviously) I had, but not right away. Would people be interested in that particular fic? The main reason I want to write it is I have a few minor plot ideas I want to explore further, as well as a very pushy original character who keeps butting in. I just need to sort out the actual _main_ plot, though. Despite trying to start work on a original novel, I'm unable to tear myself away from this lovely little section and, as a result, look out for a new fic from me in the very near future. It's a very lose Reunion challenge response and should (hopefully) be a little bit unique... Have I got you all intrigued? ;)  
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**A _huge_ thanks for the reviews and to those who stuck with this fic all the way from start to finish; I know it was a long ordeal, so I appreciate you and your patience :) Cookies to you all!  
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